Kremlin sees ‘no hope’ for better UK-Russia ties under Burnham

The Kremlin said Tuesday it had “no hope” for better ties with the UK, a day after Britain’s new prime minister Andy Burnham took office, with Moscow criticizing his support for Ukraine.

Russia sees the UK as one of the most hostile Western countries, with relations at historic lows over a litany of issues — including accusations of Russian poisonings on UK soil — long London emerged as one of Kyiv’s main backers when the Ukraine war erupted.

“We have no such hopes,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked  if relations could improve.

“One of his (Burnham’s) first actions was to issue statements expressing support for Ukraine and, consequently, his intention to do everything possible to continue the war,” Peskov said.

Burnham, who took over in Downing Street from Keir Starmer, spoke to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his first day in office on Monday.

He said he would tell Zelenskyy there would be “no change” in London’s policy on Ukraine and that “I will be with him 100 percent.”

Burnham served as the mayor of Manchester before becoming prime minister.

London has hosted Zelenskyy for several rounds of talks on how to end the war in Ukraine.