British foreign secretary refuses to shake hands with Russian ambassador after Skripal poisoning
During his recent meeting with Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson refused to shake hands with him in compliance with the "British protocol," RIA Novosti reports.
"There is certain British protocol for the cases when an ambassador is summoned to the Foreign Office. He [Johnson] sure showed in every way his concern about the Russian policy. He had to tell me unpleasant things and thus believed that the ambassador did not deserve any handshakes," said Yakovenko.
The ambassador noted that he took that in his stride.
"A talk with the secretary is always a chance for me to ask questions I want to ask even if the talk is dedicated to an incident that is very unpleasant for them," the diplomat added.
Earlier, Boris Johnson stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally ordered to poison former colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate Sergei Skripal.