UK Exploits Alleged Russia Threat to Boost Defense Budget: Russian Embassy

The UK authorities are trying to intimidate their citizens by an alleged Russia's threat in an effort to increase the country's defense budget, the Russian Embassy to the United Kingdom said on Saturday.

The embassy's remark followed the statement of UK Chief of the Defense Staff Sir Stuart Peach, who said on Friday that a potential Russia's attack on the UK undersea Internet cables might lead to "catastrophic" consequences for the country's economy, Sputnik reported.

"Such sensationalist statements can cause but regret, as they are fanning the flames for the unwholesome sentiment created by PM Theresa May’s "banquet speech"… London keeps speculating on numerous mind-boggling scenarios of a hypothetical conflict. The reasons look obvious – but even if the UK military needs money so badly, why intimidate people this much?" the embassy's statement read.

In a major foreign policy speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet at Mansion House in London late on Monday, May accused Russia of meddling in other states' affairs, spreading "fake stories" in media, aggressive policies "to sow discord in the West," claims slammed by Moscow as "irresponsible" and "groundless."

"We absolutely do not accept unfounded accusations, which, by the way, lead to a loss of confidence in London also on the part of foreign partners," the Russian Embassy's in the UK spokesperson stated.

​The embassy noted that instead of such hypothetical issues London could discuss the European security, "an important issue for all the European nations including UK."

Russian military expert Viktor Murakhovsky told Sputnik on Friday, commenting on the issue, that the discussion of Russia's potential attack on the UK undersea cables was merely "imagination."