Russia Reacts To Liz Truss Becoming Prime Minister: ‘Aggressive, Unfriendly & Uncompromising’

With Liz Truss officially becoming British Prime Minister on Tuesday morning, and having flown to Scotland to meet the Queen for the final formal step in her ascension to the office (after Boris Johnson was forced to step down, himself first tendering his resignation to the monarch), Russia has reacted to what it sees as a dangerous hawk taking over leadership in the UK.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday went after her uncompromising nature, as he explained it, and said she’s unlikely to help Britain on an international stage. Lavrov said of the new PM that she tried to “defend Britain’s interests without taking into account the positions of others in any way and without any attempt to compromise.”

He added: “I do not think that this will help Britain to maintain or strengthen its position in the international arena, which has clearly been shaken after it left the European Union.”

And Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed hope that UK-Russia relations won’t spiral further due to Truss entering office. “I think that in the situation in which Russia-UK relations are now in, we can hope for one thing only – that it won’t get worse. Although it’s hard to imagine how much worse it could get,” the Kremlin spokesman told a Russian TV channel.

He said that the current situation “may be judged by the statements that she made when she was Foreign Secretary and a contender for the position of party leader.” He then offered the following significant critique: 

“She didn’t say anything good about us. Moreover, I can say with regret that her statements were quite aggressive, unfriendly and unconstructive.”

He concluded that “it’s safe to assume that nothing much will change in the foreseeable future,” adding, “As for a potential deterioration of the situation, that can’t be ruled out. Right now, we can’t rule anything out, again, given the unpredictability of our opponents.”

Further, according to Reuters, other Russian politicians as well as media pundits didn’t hold back their scorn for the new British PM: 

Within hours of her victory in a contest to lead the ruling Conservative party, Truss was subjected to unflattering comparisons with her role model Margaret Thatcher, and warnings that she would struggle to cope with a looming energy crisis.

Nationalist lawmaker Leonid Slutsky said she would probably have to tell Britons to “turn out the lights” as energy bills soar.

“It is not Russia and its president who are to blame here, but the thoughtless sanctions policy of Downing Street,” he wrote on Telegram.

Other comments echoed in Russian media included politicians suggesting her intellect doesn’t live up to that of her predecessors:

Konstantin Kosachev, a member of the upper house of parliament, said Truss was trying to take on Thatcher’s “Iron Lady” mantle but it was “not yet noticeable that the new prime minister has enough iron arguments for the population”.

The popular tabloid paper Komsomolskaya Pravda reminded its readers of a gaffe Truss made on a trip to Moscow in February as foreign minister. It said that, compared to her, outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson “looks like a real giant of thought”.

Meanwhile, pundits in the West are highlighting some of her recent alarming comments in a townhall event, where she said as prime minister she would be ‘ready’ to launch a nuclear war if need be…

Asked how she’d feel about unleashing global nuclear annihilation, incoming UK Prime Minister Liz Truss didn’t hesitate to announce she’s “ready to do it.” Upon taking office tomorrow, she’ll already preside over a substantial “boots on the ground” UK military presence in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/7j646XCzKJ

— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) September 5, 2022

Many observers took note of the ease and complete lack of hesitation when asked about taking Britain into a WW3 nuclear scenario – to which then Foreign Minister Truss responded that she’s “ready to do it.”