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34-465: Westminster Russia Forum (WRF) was a UK-wide voluntary organisation, which aimed to promote improved relations with Russia. The forum originally launched as Conservative Friends of Russia in 2012. Richard Royal was Chair of the group that described itself as "an organisation created for those with an interest in Russian politics, business, history and culture, with the aim of strengthening relations between

68-497: A chargé d'affaires (usually the deputy chief of mission ) who may have limited powers. A chargé d'affaires ad interim also heads the mission during the interim between the end of one chief of mission's term and the beginning of another. Contrary to popular belief, diplomatic missions sometimes do not enjoy full extraterritorial status and are generally not sovereign territory of the represented state. The sending state can give embassies sovereign status but this only happens with

102-455: A consul or consul-general, respectively. Similar services may also be provided at the embassy (to serve the region of the capital) in what is normally called a consular section. In cases of dispute, it is common for a country to recall its head of mission as a sign of its displeasure. This is less drastic than cutting diplomatic relations completely, and the mission will still continue operating more or less normally, but it will now be headed by

136-564: A letter signed by 32 Members of Parliament which was submitted to the Honours and Decorations (HD) Committee on Remembrance Day, requesting that the veterans be rewarded with a medal in recognition of the part they played in the vital Arctic Convoy missions throughout the Second World War. Embassy of Russia, London The Embassy of Russia in London is the diplomatic mission of Russia in

170-514: A minister under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major , and was then chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee , resigned from the group, saying he had been unhappy for some time about the group's behaviour and "political direction". At the end of November 2012 it emerged that the group's key contact at the Russian Embassy in London was First Secretary Sergey Nalobin ,

204-533: A minority of countries. Rather, the premises of an embassy remain under the jurisdiction of the host state while being afforded special privileges (such as immunity from most local laws) by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations . Diplomats themselves still retain full diplomatic immunity , and (as an adherent to the Vienna Convention) the authorities of the host country may not enter the premises of

238-596: A separate mission to the UN agencies , led by its own ambassador , but is located in the compound that houses its embassies to Italy and the Holy See. Several cities host both embassies/consulates and permanent representatives to international organizations, such as New York City ( United Nations ), Washington, D.C. ( Organization of American States ), Jakarta ( ASEAN ) and Brussels ( European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ). In some cases, an embassy or consulate

272-594: A weekend retreat for its staff. Following the dissolution of the USSR , the Russian Federation inherited the former Soviet properties in the UK. But this was not recognized by Ukraine and in 1999 it initiated litigation, which like the case with most other former Soviet embassies around the world, left the situation unresolved. Although previously the Russian Federation was able to register its property rights, it since then lost

306-494: Is also followed multilaterally by the member states of the European Union (EU). European citizens in need of consular help in a country without diplomatic or consular representation of their own country may turn to any consular or diplomatic mission of another EU member state (art. 23 TFEU ). Some cities may host more than one mission from the same country. In Rome , many states maintain separate missions to both Italy and

340-571: Is divided between multiple locations in the same city. For example, the Bangladeshi Deputy High Commission in Kolkata , has two locations: one at Park Circus and another, opened later, at Mirza Ghalib Street, to reduce overcrowding. Governments of states not recognized by the receiving state and of territories that make no claim to be sovereign states may set up offices abroad that do not have official diplomatic status as defined by

374-559: Is generally expected that an embassy of a Commonwealth country in a non-Commonwealth country will do its best to provide diplomatic services to citizens from other Commonwealth countries if the citizen's country does not have an embassy in that country. Canadian and Australian nationals enjoy even greater cooperation between their respective consular services, as outlined in the Canada-Australia Consular Services Sharing Agreement . The same kind of procedure

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408-523: Is headed by a nuncio ( Latin for "envoy") and consequently known as an apostolic nunciature . Under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi , Libya's missions used the name people's bureau , headed by a secretary. Missions between Commonwealth countries are known as high commissions , and their heads are high commissioners. Generally speaking, ambassadors and high commissioners are regarded as equivalent in status and function, and embassies and high commissions are both deemed to be diplomatic missions. In

442-401: Is the embassy, while the office space and the diplomatic work done is called the chancery . Therefore, the embassy operates in the chancery. The members of a diplomatic mission can reside within or outside the building that holds the mission's chancery, and their private residences enjoy the same rights as the premises of the mission as regards inviolability and protection. All missions to

476-552: The All-party parliamentary group (APPG) on Russia, Labour MP Chris Bryant , through the publication of a press release featuring a 10-year old picture, extracted from a dating website, depicting the MP in underwear. The press release was coincidental with the chair of the All-party parliamentary group on Russia being due for renewal. Shortly afterwards, Sir Malcolm Rifkind , who had served as

510-632: The Holy See . It is not customary for these missions to share premises nor personnel. At present, only the Iraqi and United States embassies to Italy and the Holy See share premises; however, separate ambassadors are appointed, one to each country. In the case of the UN's Food Agencies , the sending country's ambassador to the Italian Republic is usually accredited as permanent representative . The United States maintains

544-626: The Russian Empire was located at Chesham Place , Belgravia ; this then functioned as the Embassy of the new Soviet Union from 1924 to 1927. Diplomatic relations were suspended during the period 1927–1929, and following their resumption the Soviet government moved to the various buildings on Kensington Palace Gardens. In 1946 the Soviet government bought Seacox Heath , a country house in East Sussex, as

578-622: The United Kingdom . The main building and Consular section is located at 5 and 6-7 Kensington Palace Gardens at the junction with Bayswater Road ; the Ambassador's Residence is located in a separate building at 13 Kensington Palace Gardens (Harrington House). Russia also maintains a Defence Attaché's Office at 44 Millfield Lane, Highgate , and an Office of the Trade Representative at 33 Highgate West Hill , Highgate. The embassy of

612-473: The United Nations are known simply as permanent missions , while EU member states ' missions to the European Union are known as permanent representations , and the head of such a mission is typically both a permanent representative and an ambassador. European Union missions abroad are known as EU delegations. Some countries have more particular nomenclature for their missions and staff: a Vatican mission

646-520: The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations . A consulate or consulate general is generally a representative of the embassy in locales outside of the capital city. For instance, the Philippines has its embassy to the United States in the latter's capital, Washington, D.C., but also maintains seven consulates-general in major US cities. The person in charge of a consulate or consulate-general is known as

680-741: The British Embassy in Beijing (1967), the hostage crisis at the American embassy in Tehran, Iran (1979–1981), and the hostage crisis at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima , Peru (1996–1997). The basic role of a diplomatic mission is to represent and safeguard the interests of the home country and its citizens in the host country. According to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , which establishes

714-859: The British and Russian communities and informing political decision making within both countries." The group was launched in August 2012 at the Russian Embassy in London . Matthew Elliott was a founding member. The group's launch gained mixed reviews in the media from proponents and opponents of the conservatives, with some journalists questioning its neutrality. The group had several notable Parliamentarians on its board, including former Defence and Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind as its Honorary President, and John Whittingdale MP, Andrew Rosindell MP, Nigel Evans MP, and Robert Buckland MP among its Honorary Vice Presidents. The group hosted events in London and at

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748-723: The Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham in 2012. It also subsidised its members to attend an event featuring international lawyers discussing the Pussy Riot incident, and hosted a debate on the US Presidential Election and its impact upon the relationship between the two countries. It was active in the campaign calling on the UK Foreign Office to allow British Arctic Veterans of World War Two to receive

782-527: The Embassy of Russia about this were deleted by Twitter because the tweets were in violation of the Twitter Rules, specifically the 'Hateful Conduct and Abusive Behavior' policies related to the denial of violent events. Diplomatic mission The term embassy is sometimes used interchangeably with chancery , the physical office or site of a diplomatic mission. Consequently, the terms "embassy residence" and "embassy office" are used to distinguish between

816-551: The Russian Ushakov Medal . On Remembrance Day 2012 it organised a letter signed by thirty two Members of Parliament demanding the veterans be allowed the medal. In December 2012 it claimed victory in its campaign (as the newly formed Westminster Russia Forum as the Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a new medal would be created. On 23 November 2012, the group publicly attacked the then chairman of

850-959: The Vienna Convention. Examples are the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices that represent the government of the Republic of China; Somaliland's Representative Offices in London, Addis Ababa , Rome, Taipei , and Washington, D.C. ; the Hong Kong and Macau economic and trade offices that represent the governments of those two territories. Such offices assume some of the non-diplomatic functions of diplomatic posts, such as promoting trade interests and providing assistance to its citizens and residents. They are nevertheless not diplomatic missions, their personnel are not diplomats and do not have diplomatic visas, although there may be legislation providing for personal immunities and tax privileges, as in

884-404: The ambassador's residence and the chancery. A country may have several different types of diplomatic missions in another country. The head of an embassy is known as an ambassador or high commissioner . The term embassy is commonly used also as a section of a building in which the work of the diplomatic mission is carried out, but strictly speaking, it is the diplomatic delegation itself that

918-484: The framework of diplomacy among sovereign states: The functions of a diplomatic mission consist, inter alia , in representing the sending State in the receiving State; protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and of its nationals, within the limits permitted by international law; negotiating with the Government of the receiving State; ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in

952-551: The host country or a third country. For example, North Korean nationals, who would be arrested and deported from China upon discovery, have sought sanctuary at various third-country embassies in China. Once inside the embassy, diplomatic channels can be used to solve the issue and send the refugees to another country. See the list of people who took refuge in a diplomatic mission for a list of some notable cases. Notable violations of embassy extraterritoriality include repeated invasions of

986-509: The mission (which means the head of mission's residence) without permission of the represented country, even to put out a fire. International rules designate an attack on an embassy as an attack on the country it represents. The term 'extraterritoriality' is often applied to diplomatic missions, but normally only in this broader sense. As the host country's authorities may not enter the representing country's embassy without permission, embassies are sometimes used by refugees escaping from either

1020-474: The past, a diplomatic mission headed by a lower-ranking official (an envoy or minister resident ) was known as a legation . Since the ranks of envoy and minister resident are effectively obsolete, the designation of legation is no longer among the diplomatic ranks used in diplomacy and international relations. A consulate is similar to, but not the same as a diplomatic office, but with focus on dealing with individual persons and businesses, as defined by

1054-472: The receiving State, and reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State; promoting friendly relations between the sending State and the receiving State, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations. Diplomatic missions between members of the Commonwealth of Nations are not called embassies, but high commissions , for Commonwealth nations share a special diplomatic relationship. It

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1088-605: The rights to sell or rent it out. In 2022 it was reported that the British Government was considering gifting the house at Seacox Heath to the Ukrainian Government as compensation for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . The embassy has seen several protests over the years: During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , it was alleged that Russian planes bombed a children's hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine. Tweets from

1122-727: The son of a KGB / FSB general, whose brother also served in the FSB. Nalobin invited the group to hold its launch party in August in the Kensington garden of the Russian ambassador, Alexander Yakovenko . The group's Board lost all of its Conservative MPs amid allegations of being too close to the Russian authorities and it was rebranded as the Westminster Russia Forum, a non-partisan group, which claims to promote an open platform to debate various issues such as international diplomacy, energy security and internal political systems. The group

1156-580: Was officially launched in late 2012 and has since gone on to host numerous events throughout the UK, covering a variety of topics such as LGBT rights in Russia , with guest speakers Peter Tatchell and Claire Harvey. The group successfully campaigned to see British World War II veterans of the Arctic Convoy campaign be awarded their Ushakov Medals by the Russian Government in 2013. The campaign included

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