London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

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
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×