LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The Ukraine invasion has entered its third week. Liz Truss will warn that the West must “never again” allow violence like Vladimir Putin’s “to grow unchecked.”
On Thursday, the 15th day of the Ukraine invasion, the foreign secretary will deliver a speech at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, DC, calling for an end to “the period of complacency.”
Today’s response will set the pattern for this new age, she is likely to say. We must begin by working together to oppose Putin’s offensive in Ukraine, based on the concept that the only thing aggressors understand is strength.
We must seize this opportunity. We must promise that such aggression will never be allowed to grow unfettered again. That requires taking action right now.
It requires being harsh because we know that if we don’t, the costs will only escalate.
The public is aware of the gravity of the situation. They observe the devastation inflicted by this pre-planned, ruthless, and unlawful invasion of a European democracy and realise that the world has changed.
The invasion of Ukraine is a “paradigm shift on the scale of 9/11.”
Ms Truss will outline three areas in which the UK is advocating for more action, including the need to end reliance on hostile and authoritarian regimes, such as Russia’s energy.
She will also argue that NATO defence spending and strengthening should be increased, and that the UK should forge stronger ties with partners focused on commerce, investment, and security, especially with countries that have never been historically aligned with the UK.
She will claim that Mr Putin has started a “full-frontal assault” on the basic foundations of our societies and the principles by which we cohabit – sovereignty, democracy, and the UN Charter, in addition to Ukraine.
She will go on to say that Vladimir Putin has shattered the architecture of global security and that the invasion of Ukraine is “a paradigm shift comparable to 9/11.”
‘We can’t let authoritarians get a dangerous message’
She is expected to say, How we respond today will establish the pattern for this new era.
Letting Putin’s expansionism continue unchecked sends a frightening message to would-be aggressors and authoritarians all around the world. That is something we cannot allow to happen.
We must begin with the premise that aggressors only understand strength. We must begin by cooperating to halt Putin’s attack in Ukraine.
More sanctions, weaponry, and assistance are required.
She will also call on the international community to intensify global pressure on Putin, including more sanctions that prevent the Kremlin from accessing cash, travel or trade, as well as more defensive weapons and greater solutions to the humanitarian crisis.
She would also urge governments to cooperate to ensure that justice is served in the International Criminal Court.
We’ll all do this. We will also help to shape this new era of global security, she is about to finish.
The foreign secretary has been in the United States since Wednesday, when she met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and underlined to the world that the United States and the United Kingdom will not impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
