British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday that the UK maintains international influence, highlighting military support for Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion.
In a statement to parliament to take stock of attendance at last weekend’s G7 meeting in Japan, Sunak rejected the “idea that Britain is somehow withdrawing from the world stage” or that its “influence is decreasing”.
“What we have seen in recent months is this Conservative government delivering on the priorities of the British people and exerting our global influence on some of the world’s biggest challenges,” Sunak said, singling out Ukraine.
“It was a pleasure and a privilege to receive my friend, the president [Volodymyr] Zelensky, upon his return to the UK last week. The presence at the G7 summit was a historic moment, ”he said.
Sunak was “incredibly proud” of London’s role “at the forefront of international support for Ukraine”, specifically with the training of soldiers, the supply of weapons, tanks and long-range missiles.
“And now we are leading a coalition to train and equip the Ukrainian air force,” he added.
The leader of the Labor Party, Keir Starmer, reiterated his agreement with the government’s position, defending that the parliamentary consensus on the matter should continue.
“Let’s support them [Ucrânia] as long as it takes because a decisive victory is the path to a total and just peace”, emphasized the leader of the main opposition force.
Starmer suggested that the government declare the Russian Wagner paramilitary group, which has been involved in the fighting as a mercenary company, in parallel with the Russian armed forces, a terrorist organization.
The ‘Labour’ leader also warned that no one has yet been fined in the UK for violating sanctions imposed against Russia since the start of the war, and called for the sanctions to be “in practice and not just in force”.
Source: TSF
