Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) the Russian business community and (b) other Russian citizens living in the UK on Russian attitudes towards the West.

During my visit to Moscow in December 2015, I discussed Russian attitudes towards the West with a group of Russian political commentators. I also meet periodically with the Russian Ambassador to the UK to seek the views of the Russian Government.

Officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade and Investment meet Russian individuals and businesses on a regular basis, principally through the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC) which celebrates its centenary year in 2016. The UK Government also continues to support the development of cultural and people-to-people links which can help build trust between our two countries, such as through the 2016 UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature.