Liz Truss makes humiliating Russian geography gaffe

Russian business newspaper Kommersant has reported that, during a high profile diplomatic meeting in Moscow, Liz Truss told her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that Britain did not recognise Russian sovereignty over the Rostov and Voronezh regions in the South West of the Russian Federation.

In a report since picked up by the Times, Kommersant alleged that Truss had said that Russia must withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian border. Lavrov, who has been Russia's Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2004, countered that they were perfectly entitled to move anywhere within Russian territory. After Truss repeated her demand, Lavrov asked her whether she recognised Russian sovereignty over the Voronezh and Rostov regions, which border Ukraine and have seen a significant build-up of armed men and materiel in recent months.

Apparently, Truss responded that Britain would "never" recognise Russian sovereignty over the two regions. According to the Times, the British Ambassador to Moscow then reminded her that Rostov and Voronezh were very much inside Russia.

If the report is accurate, it would be the latest in a string of gaffes made by the Tory Leadership favourite since the start of the Russo-Ukraine crisis. She had previously referred to Russia being invaded by Mongols and Tatars, as if the two were separate events, and later confused the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea.

At the press conference after Ms. Truss dropped her latest Russian history and geography clanger, Lavrov rubbed in the humiliation, saying the meeting had been like a "comedy" and "talking to a deaf person".

In better news for Truss, a British taxpayer-funded photographer had earlier pictured her in Red Square in dress and a pose that channelled both Margaret Thatcher and Joanna Lumley. Such photographs appear to have done more to boost her status in the eyes of the Tory Faithful than any hint of competence.