Russian minister calls Gavin Williamson 'minister for war'

Russia’s foreign minister has described Gavin Williamson as “minister for war” after the UK defence secretary said Russia had blood on its hands for its actions in Ukraine and Syria in a speech on Friday.

Comments by Williamson on the possibility of sending a naval frigate to patrol the South China Seas has already led China to cancel a trade trip by Philip Hammond – a move that has infuriated the Treasury.

Sergei Lavrov’s dismissal of Williamson came in answer to a question at the Munich security conference on ways to secure peace in the Arctic.

“We want to understand what kind of mandate Nato is going to have in the Arctic,” Lavrov said. “If you listen to some people like the minister of war – oh, sorry the minister of defence – of the United Kingdom then you might get an impression that nobody except Nato has the right to be anywhere.”

It was not the first time Lavrov and Williamson have clashed. Last year, after Williamson told Russia to “go away and shut up”, Lavrov said: “Maybe he lacks education.”

The disagreement came as Sir Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office minister responsible for Russia, met Vladimir Titov, Russia’s first deputy foreign minister on Saturday in the margins of the Munich conference.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Sir Alan underlined that we have deep differences, and the Russian state would need to choose a different path and act as a responsible international partner before there can be a change in our current relationship with Russia. The Foreign Office minister reiterated the UK and allies’ firm stance in response to the Russian state’s reckless use of chemical weapons in Salisbury.

“He noted that functional channels of engagement are important to raise concerns and discuss international issues. But he made clear that Russia must address the concerns of the international community. This includes ending its destabilising activity in Ukraine; and the persecution of the LGBT community in Chechnya.”

Lavrov accused Europe of allowing itself to be involved in a meaningless confrontation with Russia, which suffered billions of dollars in losses after sanctions were imposed upon it.

Lavrov also refused to answer a question from a Washington Post reporter asking him if he intended to secure peace in Syria and prevent Bashar al-Assad from committing further atrocities on his people. Lavrov said: “Whatever I answer, you will write whatever you want, so do it.”

Elsewhere, Jeremy Hunt said the UK had no plans to contribute to any joint international force proposed by the US as a way of forming a buffer zone to protect Syrian Kurds from Turkey in a post-Islamic State northern Syria.

The idea has been mentioned by Senator Lindsey Graham as something Donald Trump is discussing with allies as a way of filling a vacuum caused by the imminent withdrawal of US troops from northern Syria.

Turkey wants to form a buffer zone without any partners, a move that might lead Syrian Kurds to join forces with Assad.