Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has today called on the government to freeze and begin seizing the assets of Putins’ cronies in the UK, as part of a tough package of measures responding to Russia sending troops into Ukraine.
It comes after Boris Johnson announced the government would be sanctioning just three Russian high net-worth individuals, falling way short of the number believed to be allied with Putin and holding assets in the UK.
Ed Davey has also backed a boycott of international sporting and cultural events hosted in Russia, starting with moving this year’s Champions League final from St Petersburg. The Liberal Democrats have written to the government asking them to prepare Wembley in the event of the final being moved.
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:
The government’s initial sanctions list doesn’t go anywhere near far enough. It only targets three individuals while leaving many of Putin’s cronies off the hook.
It’s time to use the full force of sanctions powers at our disposal and start treating Putin’s Russia like the rogue state it is. That should start with action to freeze and seize the assets of every single one of Putin’s cronies in the UK – and then expelling those oligarchs from this country.
We should also make clear we will no longer tolerate international sporting or cultural events hosted in Russia, starting with this year’s Champions League final which must be moved from St Petersburg.
Boris Johnson must recognise the existential threat posed by Putin to our NATO allies, by immediately cancelling his government’s misguided decision to cut our armed forces by 10,000 troops.
For too long, this government has turned a blind eye to Putin’s oligarch friends who have treated this country as their playground. Putin has made a terrible decision, we must ensure he pays a terrible price.
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15 Comments
Let’s be honest, without the active support of the USA, NATO is toast. Have we ever considered that the NEXT US President could be a Republican, possibly not Trump, but one who might be more worried about the threat from China than from Russia? If they concentrate on the Pacific region, then clearly those of us in Europe will have to step up to the plate. If we value our democratic system, then we Europeans are ALL going to have to pay to defend it. Just as I was amazed how the Soviet Union collapsed I am equally amazed at how foolishly we so called winners have allowed the post Cold War situation to descend into the potential existential mess unfolding before us. And the song for our times? How about Pete Seeger’s “Where have all the flowers gone”?
So Israel annexes the Golan Heights from Syria in 1981 – no sanctions. NATO uses force to compel Serbia to relinquish part of its territory called Kosovo – no sanctions. Some Western Countries recognise Kosovo as independent over the objections of Serbia – no sanctions. The USA decides to recognise Israel’s illegal annexation of the Golan Heights in 2019 – no sanctions. Russia decides to recognise two breakaway parts of Ukraine – sanctions for breaking international law……
I do wish all countries were held to the same standard…
@Brad Burrows: Exactly. I wonder why Russia, and no, not just Putin/ The Kremlin, question the West’s motives….
A long-feared Russian invasion of Ukraine appeared to be imminent Monday, if not already underway, with Russian President Vladimir Putin ordering forces into separatist regions of Eastern Ukraine.
A vaguely worded decree signed by Putin did not say whether troops were on the move, and it cast the order as an effort to “maintain peace.” But it appeared to dash the slim remaining hopes of averting a major conflict in Europe that could cause massive casualties, energy shortages on the continent and economic chaos around the globe.
https://worldabcnews.com/putin-orders-forces-to-maintain-peace-in-eastern-ukraine-after-recognizing-separatist-regions/
Odd how many ‘liberals’ are so quick to excuse autocratic Russia. i really can’t understand it.
@Kit
For clarity, my comment is not to excuse Russia’s actions but merely to point out that other countries who break treaties, annex territory or launch illegal wars get treated differently. I’m sure that ‘liberals’ are not the type of people who would be willing to ignore double standards and hypocrisy.
Actually supporters of Russia tend to come from the extremes (both left and right) of politics, the polar opposite of liberal. I find Kit’s comment odd because it’s under an article about the leader of the main liberal party in UK politics saying the UK government isn’t going far enough in its actions against the Putin regime.
However, @Brad Barrows is engaging in pointless whataboutery by comparing apples, oranges, bananas and pears.
@Kit
Trying to score points in this present crisis is something we could do without. I am reminded in a curious way of the words of the Kaiser to the Reichstag on the outbreak of WW1; “Ich kenne keine Parteien mehr, nur Deutsche” I don’t think that requires a translation.
The only thing this Russian government understands is military deterrent, everything else is valueless. At the very least a No Fly Zone should be put it and if Russia crosses the border they do so at their peril.
Vladimir Putin has been engaged in a 22-year war against Europe, European institutions (including the EU and NATO), and liberalism both at home and abroad. The fruits of his influence, infiltration, and control of significant political parties and media organs are to be seen everywhere:
– The election and maintenance in power of far-right, reactionary governments in Poland and especially Hungary, with policies and demands that have undermined the EU;
– The election of Donald Trump in the United States, and, after his defeat, the creation of a large faction of Americans who are united in hatred of liberalism, dismissive of democracy, and acquiring a generally pro-Putin orientation;
– The Brexit Leave vote, covertly and overtly supported by Russia, which had its tentacles deeply inserted in UKIP, the Tories, and Corbyn’s Labour Party. Brexit and the alienation of the UK from Europe is likely Putin’s greatest and most lasting success.
At the root of all of these is an enduring toxic nationalism, cynically supported by Putin and taken up by politicians obsessed with their short-term self-interest and for whom national interest and public good are phrases that mean nothing.
And this is why the long-term project of bringing together Europe–under the EU or any other umbrella–was so important. It was a way of supplanting toxic nationalism with new structures that owed nothing to old hatreds and divisions.
@ Brad Barrows – Exactly. Goose and gander.
It’s one thing to decry “Putin’s oligarchs” as the media routinely do. But surely the point of oligarchs is that their vast wealth and power puts them above the law. So, unless this is merely a propaganda smear, shouldn’t we say, “The Oligarchs’ Putin”?
In fact, Putin’s strategy is, as far as I can tell, NOT intended to enriching sundry oligarchs but to rebuilding Russia after its disastrous Soviet interlude and post-Soviet collapse. Seen through that lens, his moves make sense and are clearly working from his POV. Despite all the huffing and puffing of the US and its minions, they are clearly not going to do anything much as exemplified by the weak tea response of the UK and others.
For an interpretation of Putin’s long speech, see Gilbert Doctorow’s most recent post.
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2022/02/23/putin-recognizes-donbas-republics-what-comes-next/
For what it’s worth my view (not a value judgement, just an appraisal of the facts) is that Putin is by far the best strategist currently on the World stage and is going to win this struggle with few shots being fired. Doctorow’s opinion is that Putin will NOT rely on “kinetic warfare” to active his ends.
That’s the polar opposite to the US which shoots then loses.
While we’re on the subject, let’s not forget that the Ukraine is very much dominated by oligarchs, and we officially have no problem with that. And as for the US…
Ed Davey could usefully ask the government why our military are training Ukrainian neo-Nazi units.
https://declassifieduk.org/uk-commanders-in-ukraine-met-neo-nazi-linked-national-guard-to-deepen-military-cooperation/
VP got away virtually free on Crimea and will continue unless the pressure to stop becomes unbearable to contemplate. I am beginning to worry about his state of mind!
Is he just obsessed or does he have a deeper mental health issue?
Kit 22nd Feb ’22 – 11:09pm:
Odd how many ‘liberals’ are so quick to excuse autocratic Russia.
I wouldn’t assume that they are necessarily ‘liberals’. There have been numerous usernames whch I’ve not seen before appear in recent days. Just as the EU has its fifth columnists in the UK, it would seem that Mr. Putin does too.
Jeff, you are right that there are Putin sympathisers posting on various sites. Some of these posters are doubtless posting under false identities, including of being “liberals”. All the liberals I know in all parties are viscerally against Putin and other autocrats.
Given the circumstances, you could surely have controlled your taste for polemically childish comment and avoided going on about EU “fifth columnists”.
LDs are a pro-European party. You may not have noticed: but pro-European posters have no need to adopt false identities. Get used to it.