Moscow threatens to retaliate Britain for denying visas to Russian delegation

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Russia might take tit-for-tat actions for London's refusal to issue entry visas to some members of a delegation heading for an aerospace exhibition, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.

"We assess British actions as unfriendly and wait for official explanations of the current situation, which does not fit the frames of normal interstate relations," the ministry said in an online statement.

Britain issued visas to only 167 out of 347 members of the Russian delegation intending to participate in the 2014 Farnborough International Airshow.

Russian Embassy in London has sent a note to the Britain Foreign Office for explanations.

According to Russian Ambassador to Britain Alexander Yakovenko, London has not given any reply so far.

London made a statement Saturday, however, admitting that " certain people were not issued visas due to the situation in Ukraine," Interfax news agency quoted Yakovenko as saying.

Russian delegation to Farnborough comprises senior officials from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, Federal Space Agency Roscosmos, Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsia, and several state military-industrial enterprises.

"Visa denial is an unhealthy sign of unfair competition and weakness," said an official of the Russian state military- technical exports agency Rosoboronexport.

The Russian delegation will try to accomplish the planned program in limited time, and "come back as quickly as possible," Russia's deputy minister of industry and trade said.

The Farnborough International Airshow is a week-long international trade fair for the aerospace and defense industries, which is held in even-numbered years in mid-July at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, England.