Home POLITICS Boris Johnson on Ukraine: “The greatest immediate priority of Britain’s overseas effort is to stand with our allies”

Boris Johnson on Ukraine: “The greatest immediate priority of Britain’s overseas effort is to stand with our allies”

by asma

“The greatest immediate priority of Britain’s overseas effort is to stand with our allies and combine deterrence with dialogue to de-escalate this crisis and prevent the catastrophe of another Russian invasion of Ukraine. The military machine that President Putin is assembling dwarfs the force which seized Crimea and ignited the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014. We are witnessing the biggest military build-up in Europe since the Cold War, driving home the urgency of our task.”

Writing in The Times, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson affirmed his support for NATO, and for Ukraine as it faces a potential Russian attack.

As well as stressing that the United States and Europe would impose “heavier economic sanctions on Russia than ever before,” he announced that the UK is preparing to reinforce the British-led NATO battlegroup in Estonia, and to bolster its contribution to the exercises of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a British-led formation comprising units from ten Scandinavian and northern European countries.

The UK is also considering the option of deploying RAF Typhoon fighters and Royal Navy warships to protect southeastern Europe. HMS Prince of Wales, the UK’s newest aircraft carrier and sister ship to HMS Queen Elizabeth, is also now the command ship of NATO’s Maritime High Readiness Force.

I struggle to understand how threatening Ukraine advances President Putin’s declared goals of keeping Nato forces away from Russia, dissuading any more countries from joining the alliance, and stopping its members from co-operating with Kyiv. If he launches another invasion, he will force the West to bring about much of what he seeks to prevent.

Boris Johnson.

“I have spoken twice to President Putin since December and on both occasions I emphasised the price that Russia would pay for another assault on Ukraine, and how disastrously counterproductive this would be,” he wrote, adding “I also stressed Britain’s respect for Russia, our enduring memory of how we defeated fascism side-by-side, and my belief that any Russian concerns could be allayed by open and honest dialogue. That is why Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, and Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, will both travel to Moscow soon.

“Britain’s commitment to the security of Europe — with NATO as the indispensable guarantor — will remain unconditional and immovable.”

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