Moscow, Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Britain should no longer be referred to as “Great Britain,” arguing it was the only country to officially name itself “Great.” He made the remarks while speaking to reporters about colonialism following comments on Greenland.
Lavrov’s remarks and exchange with reporter
Lavrov said Britain should be called simply Britain because “Great Britain” was, in his words, the only example of a country that calls itself “Great.” After his spokeswoman called on Ivor Bennett, a correspondent from Britain’s Sky News, Lavrov added: “No offence.”
Reference to Libya under Gaddafi
Lavrov said another example of a country that used “great” in its name was the “Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya” led by Muammar Gaddafi.
Use of “Great Britain” in Russian
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is usually referred to in Russian as “Velikobritaniya,” or Great Britain.
Broader Russia-UK tensions
As the United States under Donald Trump seeks to reset ties with Moscow and broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, Britain has been granted the status of Russia’s public enemy number one.
On Russian state television, “Perfidious Albion,” a term frequently used by news anchors, is described as a scheming global intelligence power that is said to be meddling behind the scenes from Washington to Iran in what is portrayed as a bid to undermine Russian interests across the world.
Britain says Russia is a threat to Europe. Amid the war in Ukraine, Russia and the West have repeatedly accused each other of conducting espionage campaigns of an intensity not seen since the Cold War.
How do you interpret Lavrov’s comments in the context of current Russia-UK relations?