UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson cancels Moscow visit over Russian support for Assad
Boris Johnson has pulled out of a visit to Moscow in the wake of the Syrian chemical weapons attack saying "we deplore Russia's continued defence of the Assad regime".
The British Foreign Secretary was due to visit Russia on Monday for talks with counterpart Sergey Lavrov, which would have been the first visit by a UK foreign secretary in more than five years.
But Mr Johnson attacked the Kremlin and said he would instead focus on building support with allies to secure a ceasefire in war-torn Syria.
"We deplore Russia's continued defence of the Assad regime even after the chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians," he said.
"We call on Russia to do everything possible to bring about a political settlement in Syria and work with the rest of the international community to ensure that the shocking events of the last week are never repeated."
