Alexander Yakovenko, who headed the Russian embassy in the UK, resigned. This was reported in the diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation in London. The fulfillment of his duties was temporarily undertaken by adviser-envoy Ivan Volodin.
“On August 24, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Great Britain and Northern Ireland A.V. Yakovenko completed his diplomatic mission and left for his homeland. The adviser-envoy I.A. Volodin has been appointed charge d'affaires of the embassy, ”the statement said on the website and on the embassy’s Twitter.
On August 24, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Great Britain and Northern Ireland A.V. Yakovenko completed his diplomatic mission and left for his homeland.
The Counselor-Envoy I.A.Volodin was appointed Chargé d'affaires ai of the Embassy. pic.twitter.com/UwRFlO7IGu
Note that Alexander Yakovenko headed the Russian diplomatic mission since 2011.
Simple practice
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that Yakovenko resigned as part of the usual rotation of diplomatic workers.
“This is the usual rotation of the heads of diplomatic missions,” TASS quoted Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian president.
He also emphasized that Yakovenko’s resignation from the post has nothing to do with the deterioration of relations between Moscow and London.
The activities of the ex-head of the diplomatic mission were highly appreciated by the Federation Council, noting that he “worthy of himself” in the most difficult situations.
“Yakovenko worked with dignity the entire term in a very difficult, from the point of view of the head of the diplomatic mission, country in a difficult period of deterioration of relations. He worthily proved himself in the most necessary situations. The experience of this person will once again be in demand in our country, ”the senator believes.
According to him, whoever was appointed to the post of Russian ambassador to the UK, "it will also be quite difficult for him."
“So far, we have no new data on a significant improvement in relations between our countries. But we hope that the situation will sooner or later break the deadlock, ”Jabarov said.
Note that rumors about a change of ambassador in the UK appeared at the end of April 2019. This was reported by the newspaper Kommersant, citing its sources. According to her, the likely successor to Yakovenko will be the head of the Department of Pan-European Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Andrei Kelin. Yakovenko himself can allegedly be appointed rector of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not confirm this information.
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More than 40 years in the diplomatic service
Alexander Yakovenko has been working in the Foreign Ministry system since 1976. Prior to heading the Russian Embassy in London in 2011, he was Deputy Foreign Minister - since 2005. He came to the post of deputy minister from the post of director of the department of information and press of the department. Also during his career, Yakovenko worked in the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna and the Permanent Mission of the USSR to the UN in New York.
He took part in a number of sessions of the Security Council and the UN General Assembly, various OSCE forums, negotiations on the reduction of armed forces and armaments in Europe, and also led the Russian delegation at intergovernmental negotiations on the creation of the International Space Station in 1993-1998.
In March of this year, the Daily Mail wrote that Yakovenko, working in the Permanent Mission of Russia to the UN in the 1980s, allegedly engaged in espionage activities, and therefore was expelled from the United States. At the Russian Embassy in London, these statements were called slander and demanded a formal apology.
"BUT. V. Yakovenko worked in the UN Permanent Mission from 1981 to 1986, after which he left due to the completion of the business trip. Information about his expulsion is a gross lie, ”the diplomatic mission emphasized.
The fact that the British newspaper slandered the Russian diplomat was also stated by the official representative of the Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
“We have received yet another confirmation that many British journalists are ill-educated and poorly educated, otherwise they would not have become propagandists. As if on command, frank fakes are published ... So much for the dumb revenge - try to make a spy out of an ambassador. Tactics are not new and very stupid, ”she said on Facebook.
Alexander Yakovenko himself then stated that such accusations reflect the realities of the British media and political life in the country as a whole.
“If someone from the newspaper or from somewhere else wanted to check this information, then this is solved in one minute. The British could calmly call the Americans, and the Americans would definitely tell them that all this is a lie, ”said the ambassador on the air of the“ 60 minutes ”program on the channel“ Russia 1 ”.
The Skripals Case
During his stay at the head of the Russian embassy in London, relations between the Russian Federation and Great Britain had to worsen due to the Skripals case. Recall, on March 4, ex-GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia were found unconscious near their home in Salisbury. British authorities later claimed that Skripal had been exposed to the chemical warfare agent A-234 (Novichok), and blamed Moscow for what had happened, without providing any evidence.
As noted by Yakovenko, Russian diplomats had to face the complete reluctance of the British authorities to make contact on the incident, despite Moscow’s attempts to figure out the situation.
“According to international law and the Vienna Convention, we have the right to gain access to victims if they are citizens of Russia. And this is also denied us. In fact, the UK does not show any respect for international law, and its behavior raises a lot of questions, ”he said in an interview with RT in March.
In this regard, Yakovenko later noted that the current situation can even be considered as the abduction of Russian citizens.
In parallel with this, he and the embassy as a whole expressed support for the London-based RT, which came under severe pressure from the British media regulator Ofcom.
“RT is an alternative for the British audience to the one-sided presentation of information that we see in the local media on a number of subjects. The most striking example is the Salisbury incident, which is reported in the UK solely on the basis of official statements and leaks with links to special services, ”the embassy said.
Yakovenko himself emphasized that they are trying to create “a kind of toxic atmosphere” around the TV channel. According to him, the authorities managed to reduce pressure on the channel only after Russia threatened retaliation against the BBC.
At the same time, the diplomat noted that the Russian side will never speak with its partners in the ultimatum that Britain has allowed itself in the context of the Skripals case.
“Our first priority is to provide favorable conditions for the development of our country. It is in accordance with this task that we build relations with all countries ... That is, we are interested in friendly relations. That was the purpose of our work in the UK, such were the tasks of any ambassador, including me. And all these years, despite the difficulties in our relations with the UK, we have been looking for opportunities for political dialogue and have developed an optimal format for it, ”Yakovenko said in an interview with RT.
Note that in February 2019, Alexander Yakovenko was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky for his contribution to the implementation of the foreign policy of the Russian Federation and many years of conscientious public service. In addition, he was also awarded the Order of Honor, the Order of Friendship, medals of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, I and II degrees, as well as an honorary diploma of the President of the Russian Federation.