During a press briefing on Wednesday when asked whether Russia still posed a threat to countries in the region, such as Georgia and the Baltic States, Hammond replied strongly affirmatively.
“Russia ignores the norms of international conduct and breaks the rules of the international system. That represents a challenge and a threat to all of us. What we all want is for Russia to play a constructive role in the international community. I have no doubt that Russia is sincere in its desire to defeat DAESH in Iraq and Syria. But we need to work together on these things and we can only work in partnership with countries which accept the international rules by which we all have to live. We can’t be working in partnership with a country one day and find that it is doing just exactly whatever it wants in flagrant breach of international norms and rules the next day”, he said.
Following his meeting with the Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in Tbilisi this afternoon, Hammond wrote on twitter that the United Kingdom (UK) “sees Georgia as a key international security partner and regional democratic role model”.
According to statistics, UK was the second largest investor in Georgia in 2015. Also, PM Kvirikashvili said trade turnover between Georgia and the UK in 2016 had grown by 41% when compared to the same period of last year.
Earlier in March, Hammond had expressed his concerns over Russia again, stating that it could one day pose as great a threat to Britain's security, as it did during the Cold War. “It is no coincidence that all the agencies are recruiting Russian speakers again” he said, suggesting London had stepped up gathering intelligence on Moscow, as it did in the past.
At that time, Russian ambassador Alexander Yakovenko reacted coolly. “Hammond remarks … prove John Le Carre (British spy novel author) right. Intelligence services are a spiritual home of British political elite”, he wrote on his twitter account. No reaction on behalf of Russia has been noted yet for today’s Hammond remarks.