Labour leader says foreign secretary’s decision to cancel trip to Moscow sends all the wrong signals and risks escalating crisis

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Jeremy Corbyn has accused Boris Johnson of having a “cold war mentality” after the foreign secretary cancelled a trip to Russia, saying Johnson seemed more keen on encouraging further bombing than creating a fertile ground for dialogue.



Speaking after Johnson called off a visit to Moscow on Sunday scheduled for talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, the Labour leader said the foreign secretary should have instead held “robust” talks there.

Corbyn told the BBC: “Surely we have to get Russia and America around the table together to put pressure on respective parties to this war, because it’s in danger of becoming a proxy war between them, in order to have a meaningful and effective ceasefire.”



He added: “If one side strikes and another side retaliates therein lies the road to something utterly disastrous.”

Johnson postponed the trip in the wake of a chemical weapons attack on civilians in Idlib, Syria, which prompted a retaliatory missile strike by US forces against a Syrian government airbase.

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The foreign secretary was in Italy on Monday for a meeting of G7 foreign ministers, which seeks to agree a collective response before a visit to Moscow later in the week by US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.

While Downing Street has played down the idea of future military action, Johnson has warned the US could strike Syria again. Asked about the foreign secretary’s comments, Corbyn said: “It seems that he’s encouraging further bombing – I don’t believe that’s going to bring a solution anywhere nearer.”

Speaking separately to the Press Association Corbyn said: “Boris Johnson cancelling his visit to Moscow sends all the wrong signals. He should go to Moscow, have a very strong and very robust conversation with the Russian government about their support for Assad and what they’re doing there, but have that conversation.

“Going back to the cold war mentality won’t bring peace.”

Corbyn said a ceasefire should be brokered urgently through talks involving all parties, including the US and Russia as well as neighbouring countries in the region such as Turkey and Iran.

He said: “There is a very small window of opportunity now. The G7 needs to reach out, everybody needs to reach out urgently and quickly.

“If we don’t, we’re looking at something truly appalling, on top of the absolutely atrocious events that have happened over the past few years in Syria.”