The war of words between Russia and Western countries continued on Wednesday, a day after President Vladimir Putin cancelled a planned visit to France and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called on anti-war campaigners to protest outside the Russian embassy in London against the bombing of Syrian city of Aleppo.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Mr. Putin cancelled the visit to Paris because he was “embarrassed” about Russia’s bombing of Aleppo. President Putin had been due in Paris on October 19 to inaugurate a spiritual centre at a new Russian Orthodox church near the Eiffel Tower and open an exhibition of artworks assembled by a Russian collector. But French President Francois Hollande insisted Mr. Putin also took part in talks with him about Syria, where Moscow is providing military support to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
‘Very embarrassing’ “Vladimir Putin refused to come and talk about Syria, that’s what we must remember. And I regret that,” Foreign Minister Ayrault said on Europe 1 radio.
Considering the situation in Syria, Mr. Ayrault said it would have been “completely surreal” for Mr. Putin to come and not discuss the conflict. “In reality Vladimir Putin has stepped up his bombardment of Aleppo, so I imagine coming to Paris to talk about Syria would have been very embarrassing,” he said.
Russia has been waging a punishing aerial bombing campaign in Syria for more than a year in support of Mr. Assad’s forces, part of a multi-front war that has claimed some 300,000 lives and seen Moscow further estranged from the West.
Moscow’s veto at UN On Saturday, Moscow blocked a draft French UN resolution calling for an end to air strikes on rebel-held eastern Aleppo that have escalated in the last month, leaving hundreds of people dead, including dozens of children.
Meanwhile, referring to British Foreign Secretary Johnson’s call for protests outside the Russian embassy, Moscow accused him of “Russophobic hysteria”.
Russophobic hysteria
Russia’s Ministry of Defence spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, said: “The Russophobic hysteria regularly whipped up by various members of the British establishment for a long time now has been quite underwhelming... Therefore, the frenzy that has gripped... Boris Johnson, who accuses Russia of committing every deadly sin, is a storm in a teacup full of muddy London water.”
Johnson, a former mayor of London known for his many public gaffes, said on Tuesday in Parliament he would “certainly like to see demonstrations outside the Russian embassy”.
The “wells of outrage are growing exhausted" and anti-war groups were not expressing sufficient outrage at the conflict in Aleppo. “Where is the Stop the War Coalition at the moment? Where are they?" he asked.
Asked about Mr. Johnson's call for demonstrations outside the Russian embassy, French Foreign Minister Ayrault said: “Is it the job of a foreign minister to organise demonstrations?"
