British top diplomat will "engage but beware" on visit to Russia

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is to visit Moscow in the coming weeks for talks with his Russian counterpart, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said Saturday.

Prime Minister Theresa May and Johnson have made clear that Britain's policy towards Russia is to "engage but beware", and the visit is entirely consistent with this approach, said an FCO spokeswoman.

The Foreign Secretary has accepted an invitation from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to visit Moscow in the coming weeks, she said.

It would be the first visit to Russia by a Britain foreign secretary in more than five years.

"Discussions will focus on the UK-Russia relationship and current international issues including Syria and Ukraine, where we continue to have significant differences.

"This is not a return to business as usual and the Foreign Secretary will continue to be robust on those issues where we differ.

"We have always been clear that the UK will engage with Russia where it is in our national interest to do so," the spokeswoman said.

Details of precise timings will be confirmed in due course, she said.

"A potential visit has been in the pipeline for some time, with the Prime Minister and President (Vladimir) Putin discussing this when they met in China in September 2016," she added. Endit