Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Openly disdainful of Liz Truss long before she became prime minister, the Kremlin is in no mood to grant Britain’s new leader a honeymoon. Among the many foreign politicians who flew to Moscow earlier this year in an attempt to prevent an invasion of Ukraine, it was Truss who appeared to annoy the Russian leadership more than any other. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described their discussion as a dialogue between the deaf and dumb, complaining that events “bounced” on her. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up A Russian newspaper then reported that Truss, during their meeting, mistakenly told Lavrov that Britain would never recognize Moscow’s sovereignty over two Russian cities, Rostov and Voronezh, and had to be corrected by the ambassador her. The Kremlin seized on the mistake as an example of Western leaders being misinformed. Britain dismissed this as propaganda and said Truss had simply misheard a question from Lavrov. Tatyana Stanovaya, founder of the political analysis firm R.Politik, said the incident played an important role in shaping Russia’s attitude towards Truss. “The Kremlin dreams of facing great, strong and capable leaders. Truss is seen in the Kremlin as a representative of this new generation of superficial Western politicians who come and go and cannot deal with countries like Russia, think strategically and plan for the long term,” he said. “In the Kremlin they were so happy when he made that mistake. It was a ‘gift’ that he immediately used against her.” Russia also hit out at an earlier blunder when Truss got confused between the Black and Baltic seas, prompting foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to complain about “the stupidity and ignorance of Anglo-Saxon politicians”. And the government newspaper mocked Truss for posing in a fur hat in Red Square like her model Margaret Thatcher, despite the mild weather during her visit. Moscow’s openly contemptuous view of Truss contrasted with the respect many Russians showed Thatcher, viewing her as a formidable opponent and giving her the nickname of the Iron Lady, which she embraced as a compliment. Speaking ahead of the announcement that Truss had defeated Rishi Sunak in a race to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and prime minister, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that relations with London could deteriorate further. “I would not like to say that things can change for the worse, because it is difficult to imagine anything worse,” he said when asked if Moscow expected any change in relations. “But, unfortunately, this cannot be ruled out, given that the candidates for the post of British Prime Minister competed with each other in anti-Russian rhetoric, in threats to take further measures against our country, etc. Don’t think we can hope for anything positive.” Political analysts expect Truss to maintain Britain’s position as one of Ukraine’s most active and staunch supporters, supplying it with weapons and training. Russian hostility may not worry her too much — and may even prove helpful — as she tries to prove her credentials as a strong leader standing up to Moscow over Ukraine. Despite her gaffe during her visit in February, she showed she can hold her own against the far more experienced Lavrov by publicly challenging his claim that Russia posed no threat to anyone with its massive military build-up on the border with Ukraine. Two weeks later, Russia invaded its neighbor. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Report from Reuters. written by Mark Trevelyan. edited by Guy Faulconbridge and Angus MacSwan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Mark Trevelyan Thomson Reuters Lead writer for Russia and the CIS. He has worked as a journalist on 7 continents and reported from 40+ countries, with posts in London, Wellington, Brussels, Warsaw, Moscow and Berlin. Covered the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Security correspondent from 2003 to 2008. Speaks French, Russian and (rusty) German and Polish.
