London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 17, 2026

UK’s Liz Truss says Russia sanctions should end only after withdrawal

UK’s Liz Truss says Russia sanctions should end only after withdrawal

Sanctions on Russia are a "hard lever" that should only be removed following a "full ceasefire and withdrawal" from Ukraine, the foreign secretary says.
Liz Truss told the Sunday Telegraph that Moscow would also have to commit to "no further aggression" or face the prospect of them being reimposed.

The West had to remain "tough to get peace", she said.

The UK, US, and EU have so far imposed sanctions on over 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses.

This week saw Moscow announce it would be refocusing its military operations in Ukraine to the country's east.

The move was interpreted by many as a sign that the Kremlin was looking to scale back an invasion that has so far made significantly less progress than was widely expected.

Ms Truss said that a negotiations unit had been set up to assist Ukraine once the Russians were "serious" about negotiations, but added: "I don't believe they are serious at present."

"That's why... we need to double down on sanctions," she said.

The foreign secretary has previously said she believes the peace talks are a "smokescreen" designed to distract from Russia's actions and allow its armed forces time to regroup.

It comes after the government announced it had detained indefinitely two jets owned by Russian oligarch Eugene Shvidler, who had been sanctioned over his ties with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

The jets, estimated to be worth $60m (£45m), were seized at Farnborough and Biggin Hill airports following a three-week investigation.

Ms Truss said she believed more should have been done to deter Mr Putin following his annexation of Crimea in 2014.
"So there needs to be hard levers," she said. "Of course, sanctions are a hard lever."

"Those sanctions should only come off with a full ceasefire and withdrawal, but also commitments that there will be no further aggression."

She added that "snapback sanctions" could be used in the event of more aggression in the future.

As well as sanctions on individuals, recent weeks have seen dozens of countries impose bans on the export of luxury goods to Russia and close their airspace to Russian airlines.

Some Russian banks have also been banned from using Swift, the system used to manage international payments, and efforts are underway to explore how Europe can reduce its dependency on Russian oil and gas.

Ms Truss's comments echo those of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who said this month that the sanctions on Russia were "not designed to be permanent".

Mr Blinken said the sanctions could "go away" in the event of an "irreversible" withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.

However, speaking in Poland on Saturday, President Biden said that, while sanctions were weakening Russia, the West needed to "steel ourselves for the long fight ahead".

Asked about ongoing disagreements with the EU about the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which sets out the post-Brexit trading arrangements between Northern Ireland and the EU, Ms Truss said that countries would always have "differences that we need to resolve".

"But those types of differences between friends and allies are different from the scale and the sheer belligerence and aggression and lying of Russia," she said.

She added that, given the scale of their differences with Russia, it was vital that Western countries "stick together."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Campaigners Press Government to Strengthen Rights for Four Million Gig Workers
Government Considers Higher Private Rents to Spread Asylum Accommodation Across UK
UK Moves to Protect Historic Pubs From Conversion Into Housing and Offices
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to House of Commons
British Manufacturers Report Rising Cybersecurity Threats Across Industrial Supply Chains
Royal Navy Increases Monitoring of Russian Ships in UK Waters by 25 Percent
England Adds More Than 350 Medical Training Posts to Strengthen NHS Capacity
NHS Waiting Lists Over 52 Weeks Rise by More Than 11,000 Patients
Brent Crude Near $88 Raises Fresh UK Energy Cost Concerns
UK Treasury Warns Prolonged Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Cut 2027 Growth to 0.3 Percent
UK Economy Grows 0.4 Percent in Second Quarter as Energy and Inflation Risks Persist
UK Heatwave Triggers Emergency Alert as Government Unveils £65 Million Farm Support Package
Reform UK Unveils Plan to Cut Welfare Spending by More Than £50 Billion a Year
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Praised Extinction Rebellion for Doing a 'Great Service'
UK Wildfire Phone Alert Triggers Backlash as Users Switch Off Emergency Warnings
Heathrow Roads Reopen After Burst Water Main Floods Access to Terminals 2 and 3
Former NBA Players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White Say They Will Enter 2027 WNBA Draft
Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Found Dead Days After Resigning Amid Plagiarism Row
US Appeals Court Rules AI Agent's Website Actions Are Legally Attributed to the User
France's Constitutional Council Blocks Social Media Ban for Children Under 15
Liechtenstein Changes Royal Succession Rules to Allow Women to Inherit the Throne
Women Allege Rape and Sexual Abuse at British Army College for Teenage Recruits
Minnesota: Two independent investigators posed as Muslims (one wearing a burqa) and showed how they could vote in elections without identification.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Takes Regional Tour to Highlight Local Infrastructure and Environmental Problems
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to the House of Commons
Bank of England Warns Rising Inflation Could Squeeze UK Household Incomes
UK Government Announces £65 Million Aid Package for Farmers Hit by Severe Drought
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Despite Energy Market Pressures
UK Issues Emergency Alert as Severe Wildfires Spread Across England and Wales
UK and Finland Discuss European Defence and Continued Support for Ukraine
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to the House of Commons
UK Government Deploys Military to Help Fight Wildfires and Bans Disposable Barbecues
UK Records Hottest Day of the Year as Fifth Summer Heatwave Peaks in Southern England
UK Condemns Houthi Actions and Warns of Red Sea Threat to Global Trade
UK and Solomon Islands Open Wildlife Photography Exhibition in Honiara
UK Small Businesses Face Continued Cash Flow and Tax Pressures
Greatham Marsh Restoration Restores Tidal Wetland in Hartlepool After More Than 200 Years
UK Health Regulator Urges University Students to Check Meningitis and Measles Vaccination Status
Mining Remediation Authority Completes Major Ground Stabilization Works in Scottish Community
UK Food Crime Investigators Seize 33 Tonnes of Illegal Food in Multi-Agency Operation
Technical Qualification Uptake Hits Record High as Advanced Mathematics Results Improve
UK Summer Temperatures on Course to Challenge Long-Standing Records, Met Office Says
UK Farmers Bring Forward Cereal Harvests as Drought Threatens Yields
×