With the UK leaving the European Union, the government faces a tough choice: to pursue a dubious policy pleasing to the United States, or to seek beneficial cooperation among recent adversaries.
Writes about this agency “Bloomberg”.
“As tensions rise with China and Russia, British moralists seem to be on the rise – not least in the ruling Conservative Party – but don’t be surprised if real politics wins in the end,” the media noted. …
After Boris Johnson won a decisive victory in last year’s elections, talk of a “global Britain” has become more frequent. British business was already looking forward to the opportunity to freely surf the world in search of attractive trade deals, especially since contacts with Russian and Chinese investors have long been established.
Once they even tried to accuse British conservatives of having closer ties with businessmen from the Russian Federation. In addition, as noted by Bloomberg, many influential figures of the kingdom were seen at Oleg Deripaska’s party in Davos before the US imposed sanctions on the entrepreneur.
Modern realities are such that Boris Johnson simply needs to do business “with everyone who wants to.” Negotiations with the European Union on further cooperation are close to failure, and even the notorious trade deal with the United States has not been on the agenda for a long time. Donald Trump has proven that he is not a reliable ally and that he is too busy with internal problems, including elections. If he loses, it is completely unclear what Joe Biden’s stance on Britain will be. Against this background, Bloomberg emphasizes, Russia looks like a more stable trading partner, because “Putin’s power in Moscow has increased.”
Earlier, London developed its own version of the so-called American “Magnitsky Act”, which implies sanctions against “violators of human rights.” In the United States, the document was used to promote Russophobic policies. Nevertheless, the British government is in no hurry to use it radically, leaving a loophole for prospective cooperation with foreign investors, including Russian ones.
“The obvious conclusion is that the government prefers to signal its virtue rather than jeopardize its relationship with old allies or new trading partners,” the agency said. “Johnson, a right-wing politician, has fallen into a trap familiar to most leftists in government. The unexpected eruption of idealism among conservatives is faced with the need to save exports and jobs by trading with questionable governments. ”