Russia is wooing Scotland with the prospect of bilateral trade worth billions. In a rare interview as he approaches the end of his five-year term in Edinburgh, Moscow’s consul-general in Scotland told The Sunday Times he was “quite amazed” that so few Scottish businesses were active in Russia.

Andrey Pritsepov pointed to Norway’s bilateral trade with Russian as being worth $5bn (£4bn), while Scotland, with an almost identical population, has deals worth just $300m (£244m).

This newspaper revealed last year that plans to develop up to £5bn of trade links between Scotland and Russia had been abandoned as the diplomatic fallout over the Salisbury nerve agent attack intensified. The Scottish government also rejected calls to create “Scotland House” business hubs in Moscow and St Petersburg,