Kremlin accuses UK of trying to stoke anti-Russian sentiment in UN address

The Kremlin on Wednesday accused the UK of trying to stoke anti-Russian sentiment in Prime Minister Andy Burnham's address to the UN General Assembly.

Responding to a question about Burnham's announcement of a new center to combat Russian "disinformation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing that the UK premier said nothing new in his UN speech and that London is "stoking Russophobic sentiment and maintaining an atmosphere of total Russophobia."

"And now, the Germans, the French, and a number of other European states are likely doing the same, in lockstep with Britain," Peskov said.

He described the approach as an "utterly shortsighted policy" from Moscow's perspective.

"It in no way brings us closer to steps that could eventually lead to a reduction of tensions and de-escalation on the European continent," he added.

On Tuesday, Burnham told the General Assembly in New York that the UK would be "relentless" in building up its hard power and deterrence but would "not play Russia's game of trading escalatory rhetoric."

"Unlike Russia, we do not seek confrontation. Instead, we will be prepared but not panicked," Burnham said.

He accused "Russian agencies" of amplifying far-right narratives and said the UK has evidence that they tried to interfere with the country's 2019 general election.

"The Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) each year on manipulating information," Burnham said, adding that the UK would begin work on a new National Centre for Information Defence to "detect, attribute and disrupt these kinds of hostile state information attacks."