The comments made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 19 April 2022.
Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country, a strong democracy with a vibrant economy and a vital part of our efforts to defend freedom, peace and stability.
Deeper ties are a win-win, delivering jobs and opportunities for British people while ensuring an open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
The comments made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 13 April 2022.
In the wake of horrific rocket attacks on civilians in Eastern Ukraine, we are today sanctioning those who prop up the illegal breakaway regions and are complicit in atrocities against the Ukrainian people. We will continue to target all those who aid and abet Putin’s war.
From tomorrow, we are banning the import of Russian iron and steel, as well as the export of quantum technologies and advanced materials that Putin sorely needs. We will not rest in our mission to stop Putin’s war machine in its tracks.
The speech made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, in Blackpool on 19 March 2022.
As we meet here in Blackpool, we face a different world from the one we have known over the past decades.
Putin’s illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has shattered the notion that freedom is free.
It’s shattered our post-Cold War complacency.
It’s shattered our collective security.
I am proud that at this moment of peril, the Prime Minister and this Conservative government have stepped up to lead.
We’ve stepped up by providing lethal aid to Ukraine – the first European nation to do so – supporting with NLAW anti-tank weapons, and now anti-aircraft weapons.
We’ve stepped up, by leading the global effort on sanctions.
Hitting banks and oligarchs
Targeting mansions, yachts, and aircraft
Cutting Russia out of SWIFT
And leading the calls for Nord Stream 2 to be cancelled.
Our sanctions are crippling the Russian economy that funds Putin’s war machine.
And we’ve stepped up our leadership on humanitarian aid.
We’re the second largest aid donor – providing everything from generators to blankets to food.
And British people across the country are offering their homes to support Ukrainian people in need.
This is exactly what British foreign policy is.
We stand up to bullies.
We fight for freedom.
We galvanise allies around the world.
As Conservatives we have a deep responsibility to protect our historic liberties and our democracy.
We have a history of standing up to dictators.
We’re proud that it was a Conservative government that helped to end the Cold War and bring down the Berlin Wall.
We signed the Budapest Memorandum in 1994, protecting Ukraine’s sovereignty.
We cannot stand by and see these precious freedoms eroded and the clock turned back to the horrific oppression of the Soviet era.
We cannot and will not rest until Ukraine’s sovereignty is restored.
In our belief in freedom and democracy, we are joined by our friends from Ukraine.
We have been inspired by the incredible leadership of President Zelensky and the bravery of the Ukrainian people.
I am delighted we are joined today by their fantastic Ambassador Prystaiko.
Your country and your President have the admiration and respect of everyone here in Britain.
Our two nations understand how precious freedom is, and what it means to fight for it.
Our friends in Ukraine see and understand the strength of our support.
I hear some people in Ukraine sing God Save The Queen as they use British equipment – well – everyone in the UK is saying Slava Ukraini.
Our foreign policy is about standing up for freedom and democracy and Britain’s national interest.
That’s why we’ve worked so hard to secure the release of our citizens, Nazanin and Anoosheh from Iran.
I was delighted to welcome them back home to Britain in the early hours of Thursday morning.
And it’s also why we are determined to fix the Northern Ireland Protocol, and restore the balance of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.
We need more flexibility from the EU.
We are prepared to do what it takes to protect the United Kingdom and ensure that all communities in Northern Ireland are treated fairly.
Now is the time to value what we have here.
This crisis has shown the strength of the free world.
It has shown the strength of democratic, free societies acting decisively in unison.
They are more powerful and determined.
Contrast the motivated Ukrainian freedom fighters with Putin’s demoralised, misled soldiers.
Contrast the decisive, crippling sanctions imposed by the G7 – from the UK to Japan to the EU to the US – with the weak Russian economy and the scant support they are getting internationally.
Contrast the spontaneous outburst of solidarity with Ukraine spreading across the world, with the tired lies emanating from Putin’s propaganda machine.
When we are free to speak out.
When we can choose our own government.
When we can control our own money.
It makes our nations stronger.
When people are free to choose – they choose freedom.
This strength is being shown right across the world, from South Korea to Canada to Germany.
This is what Conservatives stand for.
This is what is important.
This is what matters.
We should be proud of our country, and our long standing commitment to freedom and democracy.
Now is the time to end the culture of self-doubt.
The constant self-questioning and introspection.
The ludicrous debates about language, statues and pronouns.
Our history – warts and all – makes us what we are today.
We live in a great country, a great democracy and we should be proud of it.
When we’re facing a tyrant like Vladimir Putin, the only thing he understands is strength.
We need to defend our societies and never let down our guard again.
Our new trade and security deals are with our allies, not our opponents.
This is why AUKUS is so important – helping our Australian friends acquire the nuclear submarines to defend their territory.
This is why NATO is so important – and we are strengthening it for a new era.
The UK is the biggest European contributor to NATO.
We are increasing the numbers of UK troops in Estonia and Poland.
The United Kingdom needs to be strong economically as well as militarily.
We’re going to drive economic growth by delivering supply-side reform.
We’re using our Brexit freedoms to strike new trade deals, slash red tape and create new freeports.
We’re ending our dependency on authoritarian regimes.
The West focused on cheap goods at the expense of freedom and security.
Never again.
We’re banning Russian oil from our markets, we’ve ripped Huawei out of our phone networks and we have new vigilance on our critical supply chains.
We are seeing the most horrible scenes in Ukraine.
A war in Europe for the first time in decades.
We are seeing incredible bravery from the Ukrainians – and deeds of valour that will be written about for generations to come.
Britain has stepped up – now we must do even more.
Putin must lose in Ukraine. With Britain at the forefront, we will ensure he does.
The speech made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 4 April 2022.
Welcome to the British Embassy in Warsaw. It’s good to have the opportunity to hear from my friend and colleague Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister at what is an extremely difficult time.
What we have seen on the streets of Irpin and Bucha are scenes that we will never forget. We have seen butchery, evidence of rape and sexual violence as well as the indiscriminate killing of civilians.
We will ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice for these barbaric crimes. And together with our allies we will step up our efforts to stop Putin’s appalling war.
Three weeks ago, the UK led 41 states to refer these atrocities to the International Criminal court. We are providing additional funding to the ICC.
The UK military and police are providing technical assistance to the investigations. And the Metropolitan Police War Crimes unit have commenced the collection of evidence. We are working very closely with the Ukrainian government on this.
We have appointed former ICC judge Sir Howard Morrison as an independent adviser to the Ukrainian prosecutor general.
And today, I can announce that we are launching a £10 million civil society fund to support organisations in Ukraine, including those helping the victims of conflict-related sexual violence.
We will not rest until these criminals have been brought to justice.
We are clear that after these appalling crimes Russia has no place on the Human Rights Council.
And it is the responsibility of the UK and our allies – and that is what Dmytro and I discussed today – to step up our support for our brave Ukrainian friends. That means more weapons and more sanctions. Putin must lose in Ukraine.
Later this week, the G7 Foreign Ministers and the NATO Foreign Ministers will meet.
We need to announce a tough new wave of sanctions. The reality is that money is still flowing from the West into Putin’s war machine, and that has to stop.
In Brussels, I’ll be working with our partners to go further as has been advocated by Dmytro in banning Russian ships from our ports, in cracking down on Russian banks, in going after new industries filling Putin’s war chest like gold, and agreeing a clear timetable to eliminate our imports of Russian oil, gas and coal.
We also need even more weapons of the type the Ukrainians are asking for.
The UK is supplying more including next-generation light anti-tank weapons, Javelin Missiles and Starstreak anti-aircraft systems. And last week, we hosted a donor conference with our allies to secure more.
The fact is that being tough is the only approach that will work. Putin has escalated this war.
And this approach is vital to ensuring he loses in Ukraine, and that we see a full withdrawal of Russian troops and Ukraine’s hand is strengthened at the negotiating table.
There should be no talk of removing sanctions whilst Putin’s troops are in Ukraine and the threat of Russian aggression looms over Europe.
We need to see Putin withdraw his troops. We need to see Ukraine’s full territorial integrity restored. We need to see Russia’s ability for further aggression stopped. We need a plan to rebuild Ukraine. And we need to see justice done at the International Criminal Court.
Dmytro – we salute your bravery and the bravery of the Ukrainian people.
We are determined to help in whatever way we can. We will back you unwaveringly in your negotiations.
And together, we will not rest until Putin fails and Ukraine prevails.
The statement made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 30 March 2022.
British judges have played an important role in supporting the judiciary in Hong Kong for many years. Since 1997 judges from other common law jurisdictions, including the UK, have sat on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal as part of the continuing commitment to safeguarding the rule of law.
However, since Beijing’s imposition of the national security law in 2020, our assessment of the legal environment in Hong Kong has been increasingly finely balanced. China has continued to use the national security law and its related institutions to undermine the fundamental rights and freedoms promised in the joint declaration. As national security law cases proceed through the courts, we are seeing the implications of this sweeping legislation, including the chilling effect on freedom of expression, the stifling of opposition voices, and the criminalising of dissent.
Given this concerning downward trajectory, the Foreign Secretary has agreed with the Deputy Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, and the President of the UK Supreme Court Lord Reed, that the political and legal situation in Hong Kong has reached the point at which it is no longer tenable for serving UK judges to participate on the Court of Final Appeal. As such Lord Reed and Lord Hodge submitted their resignations to the Hong Kong authorities today. We are grateful for their service, and that of their predecessors.
The UK remains committed to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out the violation of their rights and freedoms, and to hold China to their international obligations.
The comments made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 31 March 2022.
Deeper ties between Britain and India will boost security in the Indo-Pacific and globally, and create jobs and opportunities in both countries.
This matters even more in the context of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and underlines the need for free democracies to work closer together in areas like defence, trade and cyber security.
India is an economic and tech powerhouse, the world’s largest democracy and a great friend of Britain, and I want to build an even closer relationship between our two nations.
The comments made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 30 March 2022.
We have seen a systematic erosion of liberty and democracy in Hong Kong. Since the National Security Law was imposed, authorities have cracked down on free speech, the free press and free association.
The situation has reached a tipping point where it is no longer tenable for British judges to sit on Hong Kong’s leading court, and would risk legitimising oppression.
I welcome and wholeheartedly support the decision to withdraw British judges from the court.
The statement made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 28 March 2022.
With permission, I want to update the House, on behalf of my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister, on the NATO and G7 Leaders meetings in Brussels last week.
Together with our allies, we agreed to keep the pressure up on Putin to end his appalling war in Ukraine: through tougher sanctions to debilitate the Russian economy; supplying weapons to Ukraine and boosting NATO’s Eastern Flank; providing humanitarian aid and dealing with the wider consequences of this crisis; and supporting Ukraine in any negotiations they undertake.
Strength is the only thing Putin understands.
Our sanctions are pushing back the Russian economy by years.
We owe it to the brave Ukrainians to keep up our tough approach to get peace. We owe it to ourselves to stand with them for the cause of freedom and democracy in Europe and across the world.
It is vital we step up this pressure.
We cannot wait for more appalling atrocities to be committed in Ukraine. We know that the impact of sanctions degrades over time.
That is why we need to act now.
Next week, NATO Foreign Ministers will meet to follow up on the statements of Leaders, and I will be pressing allies over the next week for all of us to do more.
On oil and gas, the UK has already committed to end imports of Russian oil by the end of this year.
We must agree a clear timetable with our partners across the G7 to end dependence on Russian oil and gas permanently.
On banks, we’ve already sanctioned 16 major Russian banks. We have hit Gazprombank and we have placed a clearing prohibition on Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank. We want to see others adopt these sanctions and go further.
On individuals, we’ve cracked down on oligarchs like Roman Abramovich. Last week we sanctioned the despicable Wagner Group of mercenaries.
On ports, Britain has banned entry to all of our ports by Russian vessels. I will be lobbying partners across the G7 to join us in stopping Russian ships.
We must maximise the flow of weapons that are being supplied to Ukraine under the UN Charter of self-defence.
The UK was the first European country to start sending lethal aid to Ukraine.
We are more than doubling our support with a further 6,000 missiles, including NLAWs and Javelin anti-tank weapons.
And we are now equipping our Ukrainian friends with anti-aircraft Starstreak missiles.
We are also strengthening NATO’s Eastern Flank, deploying troops to Bulgaria, and doubling the numbers in Poland and Estonia.
We are coordinating deliveries with our allies and we want others to join us in getting Ukraine what it needs.
The UK is providing £220 million in humanitarian support to help the people of Ukraine, from shelters to heaters to medicine.
Today we announced our partnership with Australia to fly out more relief, including blankets, cooking equipment and power generators.
And we are getting supplies directly into Ukraine’s encircled cities with £2 million of canned food, water and dried food.
As refugees come into countries like Poland, we are working with the UNHCR so they are informed about the UK’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.
This scheme has already got over 150,000 applications, thanks to the generosity of the British public.
We know Putin is not serious about talks. He is still wantonly bombing innocent citizens across Ukraine. And that is why we need to do more to ensure he loses and we force him to think again.
We must not just stop Putin in Ukraine, but we must also look to the long-term.
We need to ensure that any future talks don’t end up selling Ukraine out or repeating the mistakes of the past. We remember the uneasy settlement in 2014, which failed to give Ukraine lasting security. Putin just came back for more.
That is why we cannot allow him to win from this appalling aggression and why this Government is determined Putin’s regime should be held to account at the International Criminal Court.
We will work to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
We have set up a negotiations unit to ensure the strongest possible support is available to the Ukrainians, alongside our international partners.
We have played a leading role alongside our G7 allies in driving the response to Putin’s war. And I want to ensure that unity continues.
Sanctions were put on by the G7 in unison and they shouldn’t be removed as long as Putin continues with his war and he still has troops in Ukraine.
That is not all. We need to ensure that Putin can never act in this aggressive way again.
Any long-term settlement needs to include a clear sanctions snapback which would be triggered automatically by any Russian aggression.
In the aftermath of Putin’s war, Ukraine will need our help to build back.
In these exceptional circumstances, we have a duty to step up with a new reconstruction plan for rebuilding Ukraine. And we will work with the international community to do this.
At this defining moment, the free world has shown a united response.
Putin is not making the progress he craves. And he is still not serious about talks.
President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people know that everybody in the United Kingdom stands firm with them.
We were the first European country to recognise Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union. Thirty years on, we are the first to strengthen their defences against Putin’s invasion, and lead the way in our support.
Over the next week, I will be working to drive forward progress in unison with our allies.
Together, we can secure a lasting peace, which restores Ukraine’s sovereignty. Together, we can ensure Putin fails and Ukraine prevails.
I commend this statement to the House.
The comments made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, on 26 March 2022.
This vital donation of food and supplies will help support the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia’s barbaric invasion.
Our teams are working day and night with our Polish and Slovakian friends and the government of Ukraine to ensure those at most risk get the essential supplies they so badly need.
The statement made by Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, in the House of Commons on 16 March 2022.
With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to update the House on the release of British nationals from detention in Iran—and, in parallel, on the repayment of the International Military Services debt. After years of unfair and unjust detention by the Government of Iran, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori have, this afternoon, finally been allowed to board a plane and leave the country. They are on their way home. They will land in the UK later today and will be reunited with their families. Morad Tahbaz has also been released from prison on furlough. I know that the whole House and the whole country will rejoice at this news, and share in the relief that their horrendous ordeal is over.
Nazanin was held in Iran for almost six years, and Anoosheh almost five. Morad has been in prison for four. Their release is the result of years of tenacious British diplomacy. I want to thank our Omani friends and Minister Badr for their help in bringing our nationals home. I pay tribute to the efforts of many in this House, particularly the hon. Members for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq), and for Lewisham East (Janet Daby). I pay tribute, as well, to my predecessors, and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, who have all worked hard to resolve this issue. Most of all, I want to express my admiration for the incredible resolve and determination shown by Nazanin, Anoosheh, Morad and their families. I have been in contact with them throughout, as have our specialist consular teams. Their suffering has moved us all, and so does the prospect of their being reunited with their loved ones once again, after this long and cruel separation.
We secured the release, and Morad’s furlough, through intense diplomatic and political engagement at every level. We stepped up these efforts over the last six months. On becoming Foreign Secretary in September, I made resolving the issues of the continued detention of British nationals and the IMS debt personal priorities. In my first week, I spoke to the families of the detainees and met my Iranian counterpart, Minister Amir-Abdollahian. This was the first in-person meeting of a UK and Iranian Foreign Minister in three years. We agreed to work together to resolve the two issues in parallel. I dispatched a team of Foreign Office negotiators to hold intensive discussions with senior Iranian officials, in order to secure the release of our detainees. Officials travelled to Tehran for negotiations in October and November. A final round of negotiations took place in Muscat in February, resulting in this agreement.
Our ambassador in Tehran, Simon Shercliff, has also been in constant talks with Iranian Ministers and seniors officials. I spoke to Minister Amir-Abdollahian in October to progress the talks. In December, I met Minister Badr and secured Oman’s assistance in this important work. In February, I held discussions with Minister Amir-Abdollahian again, to drive the talks to a final conclusion. We will continue to push, with partners, to secure Morad’s permanent release and return home, which is long overdue. We will continue to support other British nationals in Iran who have asked for our help. We will work closely with our international partners to urge Iran to end its practice of unfair detention. It remains, and always has been, within Iran’s gift to release any British national who has been unfairly detained. The agonies endured by Nazanin, Anoosheh, Morad and their families must never happen again.
Our efforts to settle the IMS debt have also reached their conclusion. After highly complex and exhaustive negotiations, the more than 40-year-old debt between International Military Services and the Ministry of Defence of Iran has now been settled. As the House is aware, this debt relates to contracts signed with the Iranian Ministry of Defence in the 1970s. Following the revolution of 1979, those contracts could not be fulfilled. I pushed officials to be as creative as possible in finding a way to resolve the situation, and they have worked round the clock to find a viable payment route. We have considered and exhausted many options in the process. I can tell the House that we have found a way to make the payment in full compliance with UK and international sanctions and with global counter-terrorism financing and anti-money laundering regulations. A sum of £393.8 million has now been paid, which will be available only for humanitarian purposes. The terms remain confidential to both parties. We have long said that we would find a solution to the IMS debt. Now, thanks to the tireless work of our officials, we have found a way to do so.
The repayment of the debt, in parallel with the release of our nationals, reflects steps taken by both the UK and Iran to resolve issues of serious disagreement between our two countries. We will continue to stand up for our interests, for the freedom and security of our nationals wherever they are, and for an end to arbitrary detention. But for now, to Nazanin and Anoosheh, I am pleased that in just a few hours’ time we will be able to say: welcome home. I commend this statement to the House.