OREANDA-NEWS. The attitude of Western countries towards Russia will depend on the political choice of Moscow. This was stated in an interview with RIA Novosti by the Permanent Representative of Great Britain to the UN Barbara Woodward.

Answering the question whether Russia should prepare for the growth of polemics with European countries and the United States in the UN Security Council with the arrival of the new American administration, Woodward said: “There are many areas in which we can work with Russia, we want to work with Russia. And The United States is very open. I consider the START III extension to be one of the most obvious positive examples. But I think we should also be clear that our response (and I suspect the same will be true for the United States) to Russia will be depend on the political choices Russia makes. "

According to her, "Russia and Great Britain in the UN Security Council can cooperate on situations in Yemen, where 16.2 million people are facing hunger, in Libya, where, obviously, there are questions regarding support for the new interim government and the withdrawal of foreign forces."

“And there are areas where our approaches differ: Syria, Ukraine, Belarus. And we must take these areas into account,” Woodward said.

"When we look at the illegal annexation of Crimea, when we think about the lack of respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine, I am afraid that Russia cannot expect anything but international condemnation," she added.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it does not take part in the conflict in Ukraine. At a recent meeting of the UN Security Council, the head of the OSCE special monitoring mission in Ukraine, Halit Cevik, confirmed that the observers did not see the Russian military in eastern Ukraine.