Foreign Secretary to call for a united opposition to Russia in first visit to US
JEREMY Hunt will challenge the EU to stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the US and Britain over Russian aggression as he makes his first visit to Washington as Foreign Secretary.
Mr Hunt will use a speech today to urge the bloc’s members to ensure the allies speak with “one voice” against transgressions by Moscow “whenever and wherever they occur, from the streets of Salisbury to the fate of Crimea”.
EU nations, including Germany and France, were among dozens of countries that expelled Russian diplomats following March’s Novichok nerve agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, which also resulted in the death of a British woman Dawn Sturgess in June.
But some have since reached out to President Vladimir Putin’s regime, with French President Emmanuel Macron travelling to St Petersburg to call on Russia to work “hand-in-hand” with Europe, and Italy questioning whether sanctions imposed over
Speech: Jeremy Hunt
the 2014 annexation of Crimea should continue.
His visit also follows the historic summit between Mr Putin and Donald Trump in Helsinki, which led to widespread criticism of the US President.
In a speech at the US Institute of Peace, Mr Hunt is due to say that under Mr Putin Russia’s “aggressive and malign behaviour undermines the international order that keeps us safe”.
He will say: “Of course, we must engage with Moscow, but we must also be blunt: Russia’s foreign policy under President Putin has made the world a more dangerous place.
“And the United Kingdom asks its allies to go further by calling on the European Union to ensure its sanctions against Russia are comprehensive, and that we truly stand shoulder to shoulder with the US.
“That means calling out and responding to transgressions with one voice whenever and wherever they occur, from the streets of Salisbury to the fate of Crimea.”
Mr Hunt will also discuss Brexit in his speech, which looks at the raft of challenges to the “international rules-based system that has kept us safe for decades”.
The Foreign Secretary’s threeday visit to the United States will also see him hold talks with senior Trump administration officials, Downing Street said.
He will then travel to New York, where on Thursday he is due to address the United Nations Security Council and discuss the Islamic State. He is also due to discuss humanitarian issues with UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres.