British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will visit Estonia and Norway on March 10-11 and during the visit will discuss the “threat to regional security from Russia” and issues of global climate change. This was reported in a statement by the British Foreign Office on Wednesday.
So, on March 10, the British Foreign Minister will visit Tallinn and meet with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid. He will also attend negotiations with representatives of Lithuania and Latvia to discuss regional security and economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.
It is noted that it is planned to sign an agreement confirming the partnership between Great Britain and Estonia in the field of defense and aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation.
On March 11, Raab will arrive in Oslo, he will hold talks with Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide and take part in a joint meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. The ministers plan to discuss international security, including “threats from hostile states,” as well as climate change.
In Norway, Raab will also sign a memorandum of understanding with Norway, which aims to enhance scientific cooperation.
The British minister himself said that it is the neighboring states that are most acutely aware of the security threat posed by Russia. He also assured that the UK is committed to supporting partners in the Northern and Baltic regions, both militarily and in the fight against destabilizing activities.
On March 5, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that the United States and Britain are discussing the possibility of introducing additional sanctions against Russia for the alleged use of chemical weapons.
According to sources, the UK intends to act through the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Washington, in turn, is going to introduce another package of sanctions, provided that Russia does not give guarantees that it will not use chemical weapons and does not provide inspections with access to the facilities where it is allegedly located. In this case, the United States will use the Magnitsky Act.
It is noted that sanctions related to the Russian national debt will be adopted on condition that the same measures are taken in Europe.