The world “will never feel safe again” if Vladimir Putin is allowed to win the war in Ukraine, Liz Truss will warn, as she calls on Western allies to increase defence spending in an overhaul of global security.
In a major speech on Tuesday evening, the Foreign Secretary will warn the fate of Ukraine “remains in the balance”, and will demand the conflict acts as a “catalyst” to shake-up the global security alliances, such as the UN, Nato and the G7.
In particular, Ms Truss will insist Nato members view defence spending at 2 per cent of GDP as a “floor not a ceiling”, and will criticise the “generation of underinvestment”, which had “failed” to contain Russian aggression.
The UK was one of just eight Nato members to meet the alliance’s goal of spending at least 2 per cent of gross domestic product on defence in 2021.
“We need a new approach,” she will say in the speech at the Mansion House in the City of London tomorrow evening. “One that melds hard security and economic security. One that builds stronger global alliances and where free nations are more assertive and self-confident. One that recognises we’re seeing the return of geopolitics.
She will add: “We cannot be complacent – the fate of Ukraine remains in the balance. And let’s be clear – if Putin succeeds there will be untold further misery across Europe and terrible consequences across the globe. We would never feel safe again. So we must be prepared for the long haul and double down on our support for Ukraine.”
More on Russia-Ukraine war
Speaking in the Commons today, Ms Truss raised her concerns over Russia’s continued membership of the UN security council, which she warned was giving the country a “green light for barbarism” in Ukraine.
Russia’s position as a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council has limited that body’s ability to censure the Putin regime.
Ms Truss will urge the UK’s allies to send more heavy weapons, tanks and aeroplanes, to “dig deep into our inventories, ramping up production” in order to ensure Mr Putin fails in his objectives.
Mr Putin’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has warned that weapons supplied by Western countries “will be a legitimate target” and Nato has effectively “entered into a war with Russia through proxies”.
But the Foreign Secretary has said the West must ignore Russian threats, and go further to support Ukraine.
“Our sanctions have already seen Russia facing its first debt default for a century. We need to go further. There must be nowhere for Putin to go to fund this appalling war. That means cutting off oil and gas imports once and for all,” she will say.
