Boris Johnson: West made terrible mistake after Crimea
March 15, 2022, 9:46 am

Boris Johnson: West made terrible mistake after Crimea

Good to meet with leaders from the oil and gas industry today – which has an important part in producing the energy we need to move away from Russian hydrocarbons and transition to a more stable, sustainable and cleaner energy future (File photo and text: Boris Johnson official Facebook page)

The BBC reported, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the West made a "terrible mistake" and let President Vladimir Putin "get away" with annexing Crimea in 2014.

Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Johnson said ending the West's dependence on Russian oil and gas was vital to "end the bullying" from the Kremlin.

It comes as the foreign secretary is expected to announce further sanctions.

The BBC has learned that about 100 more people are likely to be sanctioned under newly-passed legislation.

In his article in the Telegraph, Mr Johnson said: "When Putin invaded Ukraine the first time round, in 2014, the West made a terrible mistake. The Russian leader had committed an act of violent aggression and taken a huge chunk out of a sovereign country - and we let him get away with it."

We’ll work together to bolster European security and ensure we emerge from this crisis stronger and more united than before (File photo and text: Boris Johnson official Facebook page)

Crimea, in the south, was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 and is home to a sizeable Russian military presence.

Mr Johnson said the only way to halt President Putin's "continuous blackmail" was by ending Western countries' dependence on Russian oil and gas - a process that would be "painful".

The prime minister is preparing to head to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf for talks about increasing production of oil and gas to compensate for reduced reliance on Russia.

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He also said his promised Energy Security Strategy for the UK would "double down" on wind energy, exploit solar power and make a "series of big new bets" on nuclear energy. Further drilling in the North Sea was one suggestion he made.

The UK is to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.

Source: BBC

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.