British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson today sought to open up communication channels with Russia after years of hostility on the first official visit by a minister from London in five years.
Britain's outspoken foreign minister arrived in Russia after cancelling in April a planned trip at the last minute over Russia's support for the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Johnson told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Russia and Britain should cooperate for the sake of global security and that the countries' similarities were more important than disagreements.
"Things are difficult but we want to work together with you on some issues, Sergei, and we want to work to achieve a better future," he told Lavrov at the start of the talks.
"We have a duty to work together for peace and security," he added.
"Where we can I think we can find positive cooperation on issues we have substantial interests in common," he said, referring to Iran, North Korea and Syria.
His Russian host said Moscow wanted Friday's talks to lead to "concrete steps" that would help revive ties.
"Our ties -- there is no secret here -- are at a very low point," Lavrov said.
The Foreign Office said ahead of the talks that Johnson would stress that the two countries' similarities "far outweigh our current political disagreements."
"The Kremlin has positioned Russia in direct opposition to the West, but it doesn't have to be that way," Johnson will tell Lavrov, the Foreign Office said.
While the Moscow visit could signal an improvement in relations, Johnson himself said he holds out little hope that ties with Moscow could undergo a full-blown transformation.
In an interview with Polish news agency PAP ahead of his Russia visit, Johnson said he was "no cold warrior", but he did "not believe for a second that relations with Russia can be reset."
Johnson arrived in Russia from Poland where he accompanied British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday.
The Russian foreign ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the diplomatic chiefs planned to "look for ways to normalise and activate the bilateral relationship."
"Unfortunately, cutting short bilateral dialogue with Russia was London's choice," Zakharova said, calling the visit "long-awaited."
Relations between London and Moscow soured after Britain sought to prosecute suspects in the killing of Kremlin critic and former spy Alexander Litvinenko, murdered by radiation poisoning in London in 2006.
Britain has also been a fervent supporter of Western sanctions against Russia over its role in the Ukraine conflict and annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The relationship suffered further blows after Russia's intervention in the Syria conflict on the side of the Damascus regime in September 2015.
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