Liz Truss: Nothing is off the table to stop Putin's threats against Ukraine
February 23, 2022, 8:21 am

Liz Truss: Nothing is off the table to stop Putin's threats against Ukraine

Liz Truss/Official Facebook page

The BBC reported, The UK foreign secretary said, the UK will use "every lever at our disposal" to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin's threats against Ukraine.

Writing in the Times, Liz Truss said G7 allies have agreed on further sanctions and "nothing is off the table.

Ms Truss wrote that this was the first wave of a "closely co-ordinated effort to ratchet up the pressure" on the Russian president, initially targeting individuals and companies closest to the Kremlin.

She said the government has a "long list of those complicit in the actions of the Russian leadership", adding that if Mr Putin refuses to pull back troops, the UK can "keep turning up the heat" by targeting more banks, wealthy individuals and significant companies.

Some of the measures mentioned by Ms Truss were previously announced by the Foreign Office on Tuesday.

UK-City of Liverpool-City center (File photo: Pixabay)

They include sanctioning Russian parliamentarians - which would require new legislation - and preventing British firms from doing business in the two rebel-held areas in Donetsk and Luhansk, recognised by Russia as independent.

Ms Truss also said the UK would restrict the Russian state and key companies from raising funding in UK financial markets, as well as banning a range of high-tech exports to Russia, "degrading the development of its military-industrial base for years".

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She said: "Time after time, we and our allies have said that any further invasion would have severe consequences. Now Russia has chosen to abandon diplomacy, we have a moral duty to stand with Ukraine and demonstrate that we mean what we say."

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.