Russia has ‘learned nothing’ from ‘colonial failures and wars’, suggests Lammy

Russia has “learned nothing” from “colonial failures and wars”, David Lammy has said, telling global foreign ministers that peace with Ukraine would mean President Vladimir Putin “finding a way forward which respects Ukraine’s sovereignty”.

The Foreign Secretary was speaking at the G20 meeting of foreign ministers in South Africa, a summit also attended by Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, and said he had been “hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression” from his Moscow counterpart.

However, Mr Lammy suggested that was not forthcoming, and Mr Lavrov “left his seat” before his own contribution.

The meeting of foreign ministers comes amid uncertainty about Ukraine’s future, as Washington and Moscow began a process of talks over peace earlier this week.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio is not in attendance amid diplomatic tensions between South Africa and Washington DC.

US President Donald Trump stopped foreign aid to the country over a law that the White House said amounts to discrimination against the country’s white minority.

According to a version of Mr Lammy’s speech posted on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office website, he told delegates that they want a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine “as soon as possible”.

He went on: “You know, mature countries learn from their colonial failures and their wars, and Europeans have had much to learn over the generations and the centuries.

“But I’m afraid to say that Russia has learned nothing.

“I listened carefully to Minister Lavrov’s intervention just now he’s, of course, left his seat, hoping to hear some readiness to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

Mr Lammy said he was “hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression, I was hoping to hear some readiness to seek a durable peace”.

Instead, he said that he heard “the logic of imperialism dressed up as a realpolitik, and I say to you all, we should not be surprised, but neither should we be fooled”.

Mr Lammy added: “We are at a crucial juncture in this conflict, and Russia faces a test.

“If Putin is serious about a lasting peace, it means finding a way forward which respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and the UN Charter which provides credible security guarantees, and which rejects Tsarist imperialism, and Britain is ready to listen.”

After his speech, he told reporters that Mr Lavrov’s remarks showed there was no “appetite” for peace in Ukraine from the Russians and said Moscow’s “war of attrition” in the country “must continue to be resisted by all allies in right-thinking countries”.

But he also acknowledged it was “existential” for European nations to build up their military spending, repeating the UK Government’s commitment to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence.