Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 27 June (HL854), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what assessment they have made of the report by Lord Skidelsky Economic Sanctions: A Weapon out of Control, published in April; and in particular, what assessment they have made of the conclusion that "They [sanctions] should come into play only after diplomacy has been exhausted, never as an alternative to it. This has not been the case in the present conflict".

The UK uses sanctions as part of a broader political strategy, a comprehensive approach encompassing the full range of diplomatic actions. Russia's assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state that threatens global security. There can be no negotiated settlement which replicates the Minsk Agreement, which came at the expense of Ukraine's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. Prior to Russia's further invasion, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and the Secretary of State for Defence visited Moscow and the Prime Minister spoke to Putin. However, Putin launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and has made clear he will not stop at Ukraine in his ambitions, but go further by targeting other sovereign nations. In the face of rising aggression we must be assertive in use of our economic levers such as sanctions, and the UK will continue ratcheting up economic pressure in order to cripple Putin's war machine.