Foreign Minister Liz Truss has revealed what demands Russia will have to meet if it wants crippling sanctions placed on the country to be lifted. Hundreds of billions of pounds in Oligarchic assets have been frozen by the UK government since the start of the war.
Sanctions could be lifted on Russia – but Putin will have to agree to these demands
Although these measures haven’t yet convinced Vladimir Putin to end his campaign of terror in Ukraine, some of his nearest and dearest have been badly impacted by the stringent set of financial sanctions.
With hopes growing that the physical conflict is heading towards some form of conclusion in Eastern Europe, Truss has decided to offer the Russians a route back to pre-war normality. But several conditions must be met first.
Truss, who also told The Telegraph that Putin’s aggression had brought the UK closer to the EU again, laid out all FOUR terms on Sunday. In order for sanctions to be lifted, the Russians must agree to:
- A full ceasefire.
- The withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
- A commitment that there will be ‘no further aggression’.
- The implementation of ‘snapback sanctions’, which would return if any of these agreements were broken.
#British Foreign Office names conditions for lifting sanctions against #Russia. They can be lifted from Russia if its troops leave the territory of #Ukraine and #Moscow proves its commitment to refraining from aggression in the future, British Foreign Secretary #LizTruss said. pic.twitter.com/c6yKFpylNr
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 27, 2022
Does the punishment go far enough?
In some circles, Truss and her government colleagues have been accused of ‘not going far enough’ with the sanctions package. But the minister has staunchly defended the Conservative Party’s course of action, arguing that the deterrents are acting as a ‘hard lever’.
“What we know is that Russia signed up to multiple agreements they simply don’t comply with. So there needs to be hard levers. Of course, sanctions are a hard lever. Those sanctions should only come off with a full ceasefire and withdrawal.”
Liz Truss