Lord McDonald of Salford
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Ukraine
Lord McDonald of Salford Excerpts(2 years ago)
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Lord McDonald of Salford (CB)
Your Lordships’ House debated the invasion of Ukraine on 25 February, the day after Russia’s invasion. Everybody who spoke that day wished Ukraine well. Nobody predicted what has happened in the past six weeks; nobody foresaw what Ukraine could achieve. Everything that could go wrong is going wrong for Russia. Evidence is accumulating that Russia is losing. So I have two questions for the Minister. First, I do not expect him to go into detail, but among the scenarios that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is now considering, is it looking at the consequences of Russian defeat? The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991; might the Russian Federation, across 11 time zones, collapse in 2022? Secondly, sadly, defeat for Russia does not mean victory for Ukraine. President Zelensky may have to agree an unsatisfactory peace. Please can the Minister confirm that that would not be the trigger for us to lift sanctions? That is a different decision, and sanctions should remain in place until all Russian troops have left the territory of Ukraine.