British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has confirmed his intention to pay a visit to Russia and to meet with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
"I want the Russians to understand the Ukrainians will fight and Russia risks its economy, it risks being isolated, and that is not a legacy [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin wants to be remembered for," the Times daily cited Wallace as saying.
"There is a chance it could be stopped but I’m not optimistic," the British top military official added.
Wallace also said that considering tensions in regard to Ukraine the United Kingdom in cooperation with NATO "could definitely deploy more forces in land, sea or air."
On January 17, UK Secretary of State for Defense Wallace announced that he had sent an invitation to Russian Defense Minister Shoigu to visit London. Wallace expressed readiness to discuss issues related to mutual security concerns and engage in a meaningful dialogue in the spirit of goodwill.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on January 21 that Shoigu extended an invitation to Wallace to visit Moscow. According to the ministry, Shoigu "assured his British counterpart that he was ready to discuss all pressing security issues and suggested holding talks in Moscow based on the principles of reciprocity at any time that is convenient for the British defense secretary."
