February 21, 2023
2 mins read

‘We should have ‘done more earlier’ to counter Putin’

Truss urged the U.K. to do all it could to help Ukraine win the war as soon as possible, including sending fighter jets, an ongoing matter of debate in Western capitals despite Ukrainian pleas…reports Asian Lite News

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss argued the U.K. should have “done more earlier” to counter Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric before he invaded Ukraine, and said the West depended on Russian oil for too long.

Truss — the U.K.’s shortest-serving prime minister who resigned amid market turmoil last year — was speaking in a House of Commons debate about Ukraine, her first contribution in the chamber as a backbencher since 2012. She has been increasingly vocal on foreign policy since leaving office.

The former prime minister, who as served foreign secretary for Boris Johnson before succeeding him in the top job, recalled receiving a phone call at 3.30 a.m. on the morning of the invasion, and told MPs: “This was devastating news. But as well as being devastating, it was not unexpected.”

Truss praised the “sheer bravery” of Ukrainians defending their country, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Cabinet for not fleeing the country in the aftermath. “I remember being on a video conference that evening with the defense secretary and our counterparts, who weren’t in Poland, who weren’t in the United States,” she said of Ukraine’s top team. “They were in Kyiv and they were defending their country,” she added.

But while Truss argued Western sanctions had imposed an economic toll on Putin’s Russia, said urged reflection. “The reason that Putin took the action he took is because he didn’t believe we would follow through,” she argued, and said the West should “hold ourselves to high standards.”

Ukraine, she said, should have been allowed to join NATO.

“We were complacent about freedom and democracy after the Cold War,” she said. “We were told it was the end of history and that freedom and democracy were guaranteed and that we could carry on living our lives not worrying about what else could happen.”

Truss urged the U.K. to do all it could to help Ukraine win the war as soon as possible, including sending fighter jets, an ongoing matter of debate in Western capitals despite Ukrainian pleas.

And the former prime minister said the West should “never again” be “complacent in the face of Russian money, Russian oil and gas,” tying any future lifting of sanctions “to reform in Russia.”

ALSO READ-NSA Doval meets Putin in Moscow

Previous Story

Ukraine tops agenda as EU foreign ministers meet

Next Story

IDEX-NAVDEX: Dh4.5bn deals signed on Day 1

Latest from -Top News

Multi-alignment, upgraded

With US ties strained and China tense, New Delhi taps Europe’s harder edge for co-development, clean tech and strategic autonomy, writes Manoj Menon India is recalibrating its great-power hedging as frictions with

India-EU Trade Deal Breakthrough Soon?

Negotiators report increased momentum in discussions, which have been given a boost from US President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive…reports Asian Lite News India and the European Union aim to finalise a trade

Europe Seeks Peace in Gaza

European countries condemn Israeli interception of Gaza-bound flotilla, demand safety of citizens…reports Asian Lite News Israel’s interception of an international flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza has sparked condemnation across Europe, with

GAZA: Egypt to Host Peace Talks

Egypt hopes the discussions will help “end the war and the suffering of the brotherly Palestinian people, which has continued for two consecutive years…reports Asian Lite News Egypt will host Israeli and

‘My Injuries Made Me’

During his four-year battle with injury, the incumbent fast bowling spearhead made occasional appearances but couldn’t bear the workload and demands of red-ball cricket….reports Asian Lite News England tearaway Jofra Archer believes
Go toTop

Don't Miss

IJF suspends Putin as honorary president

The IJF also said this week that it is cancelling

Peacemaker Putin?

Putin has confirmed Russia’s readiness to mediate a dialogue between