Britain won’t be ‘bullied’ by Putin’s threats of struggle, David Lammy says
Britain will not be bullied by Vladimir Putin’s “shameless grandstanding” after the Russian dicactor’s threats of war, David Lammy has insisted.
The Foreign Secretary’s remarks came after Putin warned western countries against lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to hit targets inside Russia’s borders. Putin said such a move would mean Nato countries are “at war” with Russia.
But Mr Lammy shot back on Sky News on Sunday, saying: “Putin said don’t send tanks. We sent them. Putin said don’t send any missiles. We sent them. Putin threatens every few months to use nuclear weapons – it’s totally unacceptable.
“We won’t be bullied by Putin’s shameless, shameless grandstanding – what he should now do is cease his aggression and leave Ukraine.”
Mr Lammy refused to be drawn on the “operational details” of the weapons system. He explained: “I’m not going to assist Putin as we head into the winter. This is a long-standing request of Zelensky – he’s now been making it for well over a year.
“I understand why he makes that and of course it’s important for us to discuss the details of that with our closest allies – and we continue to do that.”
The Foreign Secretary added: “We are very clear we want to see Ukrainians win. We cannot support this kind of gross fascist imperialism in Europe in the 21st century and we must do everything we can to repel it. If we allow him to win here he will not stop here.”
It follows Mr Lammy’s trip to the US with Keir Starmer to meet with American President Joe Biden and senior officials to discuss the war in Ukraine and the weapons system.
