Moscow: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin on Monday told the Russian delegation at the Farnborough air show to go home after being snubbed by the British government over the Ukraine conflict.
"I recommend our delegation to wind up its participation in the show and return home," Rogozin, who is in charge of the defence sector, wrote on Twitter.
Britain's Foreign Office said on Saturday that no Russian delegates had been invited as government guests to the key aviation event "due to Russian actions in Ukraine".
Britain also said it would remove Russia from the list of countries eligible to buy British planes "in order to discourage Russian attendance" at the show, which opened on Monday.
"Denying visas for the Russian delegation at Farnborough is a sign of unhealthy competition," Rogozin wrote in English on Twitter.
The Russian foreign ministry said in an angry statement on Monday that the arrival of most of its delegation "apparently has fallen through because they were not issued with British visas".
"We see such actions by the British side as clearly unfriendly... Moreover we reserve the right to mirror-image actions as is the custom in diplomacy," the ministry said, without giving further details.
Russia usually sends a sizeable contingent to the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA), a key biennial event in the aviation calendar, in order to increase its foreign sales.
Russia's Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade Yuri Slyusar, who is leading the delegation, told the ITAR-TASS news agency at the show that "347 people applied as delegates, 167 were given visas".
"We will have to somewhat cut back the programme for our visit here," he said, although he stopped short of confirming the delegation would pull out of the air show.
Sergei Kornev, the head Russian arms exports agency Rosoboronexport's delegation, told ITAR-TASS that "the lack of British visas for a significant number of the Russian delegation is an unhealthy sign of unfair competition and weakness".
The lack of visas to attend Farnborough "is not capable of having a negative influence on the global process" of Russia's arms sales, he added.
"I recommend our delegation to wind up its participation in the show and return home," Rogozin, who is in charge of the defence sector, wrote on Twitter.
Britain's Foreign Office said on Saturday that no Russian delegates had been invited as government guests to the key aviation event "due to Russian actions in Ukraine".
"Denying visas for the Russian delegation at Farnborough is a sign of unhealthy competition," Rogozin wrote in English on Twitter.
Advertisement
"We see such actions by the British side as clearly unfriendly... Moreover we reserve the right to mirror-image actions as is the custom in diplomacy," the ministry said, without giving further details.
Advertisement
Russia's Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade Yuri Slyusar, who is leading the delegation, told the ITAR-TASS news agency at the show that "347 people applied as delegates, 167 were given visas".
Advertisement
Sergei Kornev, the head Russian arms exports agency Rosoboronexport's delegation, told ITAR-TASS that "the lack of British visas for a significant number of the Russian delegation is an unhealthy sign of unfair competition and weakness".
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Russia Launches "Counter-Terror Operation" To Stop Advancing Ukraine Troops 10 Dead, 5 Critical As Residential Building Collapses In Russia Russian Military Intelligence Officer Injured In Moscow Car Bomb Attack: Report Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home, Body Found 9 Days Later In UP "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool "Took Advantage Of His Addiction": 5 Charged Over Matthew Perry's Death Ceasefire Must Involve "Complete" Israeli Withdrawal From: Gaza Hamas US Delegation Led By Top Diplomat Richard Verma To Visit India Tomorrow 6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Taiwan: Weather Agency Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.