The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, suggests that sanctions against Russian oligarchs, imposed on because of Russian war aggression in Ukraine, will never be closed. This was announced in an interview with the newspaper The Times, writes UNIAN.
“It’s extremely difficult. Those oligarchs let Putin do what he is doing. Putin has blood on his hands”- Truss emphasized.
Truss noted that it’s likely that the Russian oligarch, an owner of the Chelsea football club, Roman Abramovich will not be able to return to Britain. "I don't see such an opportunity," - Truss said.
The Minister also stressed that the West must learn from the fact that it hasn’t done enough to contain Russia since the Cold War.
“It began with the end of the Cold War, when we cut our defense spending. I think the West has begun to lose vigilance during the Blair years (Tony Blair - the British Prime Minister during 1997-2007 - ed.) until the present. There were a number of turning points. And at every turning point, the West didn’t take seriously what Putin was planning," - Truss said.
Truss stressed that there should be no more reconciliation with authoritarian regimes.
"Over the last 20 years, there has been too much reconciliation with authoritarian regimes for purposes of trade and economic growth, too much safety but not enough attention to security and defense. This is a common problem ... In general, the free world has paid too much attention to cheap oil, cheap electronics, cheap goods at the expense of our freedom and security ", - said Trass.
Earlier, since March 14, the UK imposed sanctions on 370 persons from Russia and Belarus, including Russian oligarchs and members of their families, Russian politicians and Putin's propagandists.
Earlier, Mr President Volodymyr Zelensky told the British Prime Minister and the leaders of the Baltic States and Northern Europe that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the world community were not enough to end Moscow's war against Ukraine.
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is also convinced that the West has made a terrible mistake allowing Russian President Putin to avoid responsibility for the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of war against Ukraine in 2014. Mr Johnson mentioned that Russia should be left without profits from the sale of oil and gas.