Ukraine

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen Excerpts

Thursday 24th February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I do not think I can stand here today and set out exactly that. What I can say is that we will be working with our NATO partners, as we have seen today through the G7, to ensure that we have a united front against Russian aggression and that we maintain a strong posture together, in order to make sure that we have the outcome in this situation that we all want.

[Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (Lab)]

My Lords, I am sure I was not the only one waking up this morning to listen to the news who was not reminded of that similar day in 1968 when we woke up to hear the news that Soviet tanks had crushed the velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia. In May 2002, when I chaired the NATO-Russia summit with President Putin as an equal member around that table, I thought that I had finally exorcised the ghosts of 1968. Only hours later, I stood on a platform beside President Putin at a press conference when he said these words:

“Ukraine is an independent, sovereign nation state and it will choose its own path to peace and security.”


Now, remarkably, the same man says that Ukraine does not exist as a state, does not deserve to be considered as one and that its democracy will be crushed. The leader of the Russian people—a people to whom we owe so much for our liberty today—is taking his country down the road to pariah status. The Russian people do not deserve this.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord. He has huge expertise in this area and speaks with great authority. He is absolutely right. Russia’s assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign, democratic state. As we have discussed in this House in recent weeks, the Russian Government have repeatedly denied their hostile intent towards Ukraine. At the same time, they have amassed troops, launched cyberattacks and staged false pretences and provocations. As the Statement made clear, unfortunately, the Russian Government seem to have shown that they were never serious about engaging in diplomacy. I thank the noble Lord for his comments. I entirely agree with him.