Lord Rogan
Main Page: Lord Rogan (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Rogan's debates with the Ministry of Defence
Ukraine: UK Policy
Lord Rogan Excerpts(4 days, 2 hours ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Rogan (UUP)
My Lords, while I welcome that the noble Lord, Lord Skidelsky, initiated this debate, there was little of what he said that I could agree with.
Last week in relation to Ukraine I referred to the importance of maintaining cross-party unity in this House and the other place. Four days on, I think it is safe to say that the need for this Parliament to speak with one voice is even more important.
As noble Lords may be aware, last night Donald Trump told reporters that his Administration are talking to the Russians about “dividing up certain assets” belonging to Ukraine. That is an outrageous statement for any American President to make. For good measure, he said that land had also been discussed. He added:
“It’s a lot different than it was before the war”.
Indeed it is, but only because it is land stolen by the Russians. One can only imagine the demoralising impact these comments are having on the brave people of Ukraine, not least on its brave and fearless soldiers.
As the noble Lord, Lord Howell, mentioned, other countries—not least Taiwan and other south-east Asian countries—are hearing these comments and no doubt are alarmed and troubled.
Today is St Patrick’s Day—happy St Patrick’s Day. In common with my noble friend Lord Empey, I have been privileged to be invited to the White House under different Presidents to attend the annual celebrations in honour of Ireland’s patron saint. My experiences of the Washington events were always positive. We did not always agree with decisions taken by the incumbent of the Oval Office, but we were granted an audience and treated with respect by the Administration of the day.
Sadly, respect is not a word I can associate with Donald Trump. I appreciate that Keir Starmer has a difficult task in trying to guide the US President to a position of continued support for Ukraine. However, in doing so, I urge our Prime Minister not to soften our country’s stance of total backing for the Ukrainian people.