Ties between the UK and Russia have been strained following the February invasion, with Britain taking a lead among Western nations in sending weapons to Ukraine.
Russia has described the decision not to invite its representatives to the Queen’s funeral as “profoundly immoral” and “blasphemous”.
Leaders and dignitaries from around the world have been invited to the late monarch’s state funeral, but Russia’s Vladimir Putin and others were snubbed.
We view this British attempt to use a national tragedy that has touched the hearts of millions of people around the world for geopolitical purposes to settle scores with our country during the days of mourning as profoundly immoral,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
“This is especially blasphemous to the memory of Elizabeth II, who is known to have served during World War II in the territorial defence ranks of the British Armed Forces fighting the Nazis,” she added.
Ties between the UK and Russia are strained following the February invasion, with Britain taking a lead among Western nations in sending weapons to Ukraine.
The unifying image of Queen Elizabeth II, who has not interfered with politics as a matter of principle during her reign, has not become an obstacle to London’s dissenting attacks, which are subject to accomplishing their own conjectural objectives,” Ms Zakharova said.
“For our part, we express our profound condolences to the British people for the great loss that befell them.”
Meanwhile the UK is also testing the Patience of the Chinese
A Chinese government delegation has been banned from attending the lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II, BBC News understands.
House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle refused a request for access to Westminster Hall due to Chinese sanctions against five MPs and two peers, Politico first reported.
Queen Elizabeth is set to lie in state there until her funeral on Monday.
The House of Commons told the BBC it did not comment on security matters.
Last year, China imposed travel bans and asset freezes on nine Britons – including seven parliamentarians – for accusing Beijing of mistreating Uighur Muslims.
That led to China’s ambassador to the UK being banned from Parliament – a move which has now been extended to a delegation that wanted to pay their respects at Queen Elizabeth’s lying-in-state.
UK-China relations are already strained and this ban is unlikely to help.
However, China’s vice-president is expected to attend Monday’s state funeral which will be held across the road from Parliament at Westminster Abbey.
According to the parliamentary rule book Erskine May, in 1965 Queen Elizabeth II consented that control of Westminster Hall would be shared between the Lord Great Chamberlain – who is appointed by the monarch – and the speakers of both the Commons and the Lords.
There is no specific mention regarding control of access for an occasion such as a lying-in-state, but when it comes to “invitations to foreign dignitaries to address both Houses in Westminster Hall” these are “ordinarily” issued by the agreement of all three.
Last September, Sir Lindsay and Lord’s Speaker Lord McFall told China’s ambassador to the UK he could not come to Parliament because of Beijing’s sanctions.
At the time that ban was criticised by the Chinese government as “despicable and cowardly”.
On Thursday, the group of seven MPs and peers, including former Tory ministers Iain Duncan Smith and Tim Loughton, urged the Foreign Secretary to withdraw an invitation to President Xi of China to attend the Queen’s funeral.
They said it would be “wholly inappropriate” for the Chinese government to be represented, given its human rights record.
Mr Laughton told BBC News: “You cannot have a Golden Age, normal relations, with a country that has now been exposed as committing the sorts of atrocities it has, not least the genocide against the Uighurs, the oppression going on in Tibet for the last 60/70 years, and now what we see going on in Hong Kong as well.”
Source Sky News
For our part, we express our profound condolences to the British people for the great loss that befell them
