Boris Johnson is going to Moscow to meet his counterpart Sergey Lavrov on contentious issues including Russia’s  conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, and counter-terrorism.

In will be the first UK foreign secretary visit to Russia since 2012, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) confirmed on Saturday that Johnson will meet Sergei Lavrov in the coming weeks.

The foreign secretary, who has repeatedly and publicly criticised Russia over the last six months, will not be “cosying up” to the Kremlin and will bring a “robust” defence of the UK government’s position on key issues, sources close to the minister said.

“Discussions will focus on the UK-Russia relationship and current international issues including Syria and Ukraine, where we continue to have significant differences. This is not a return to business as usual, and the foreign secretary will continue to be robust on those issues where we differ.”