EU made a bad situation worse

Joe Egerton’s letter accuses me of being an appeaser with regard to Ukraine based on remarks I made during the Brexit referendum campaign [Letters, April 28].

I stand by my remarks but they were not as Mr Egerton presents them. In a series of debates, including one with Keir Starmer, I argued that by making gestures towards Ukrainian membership of the EU, after the West had made it clear that it would not

defend that country, the EU exposed the Ukrainians in the most irresponsible way. European leaders talked about a rules-based order and poked the bear, while Ukraine was in the cage and we were all outside it.

Britain, the US and NATO must accept some of the blame from the 90s. When the Ukrainians gave up their nuclear weapons, we neither admitted them into NATO’S shield nor negotiated the kind of internationally agreed neutral status which worked for Finland and Austria after WW2. Nevertheless, by holding out the prospect of membership, the EU made a bad situation much worse – feeding Putin’s narrative of western encirclement (which his own people sadly seem to believe) without offering Ukraine a shred of protection.

The subsequent decision by Germany, both to allow gas pipelines to by-pass Ukraine and to abandon nuclear power, sent a further signal that Russia could do what it wanted, as did the sale of German, French and Italian weaponry to Russia.

I never disclose private discussions with Michael Fallon, who was an excellent secretary of state, but I can say that I was also a strong believer in arming allies faced with external threats. I was, for example, the first defence minister for many years to fly to Beirut at a time when cabinet policy was blocking arms sales to Lebanon, which was threatened by terrorist groups

from across the Syrian border. We had nonetheless established a small training mission which I was proud to visit.

For what it is worth, unlike Mr Egerton, I served in uniform and have two sons serving, one regular and one reserve, both of whom have done operational tours in challenging theatres. I am proud that Britain led the way in delivering equipment and training to Ukraine, while Germany and other prominent EU countries sold out to Russia.

I continue to believe that the attitude of the EU and some of its leading nations has been profoundly wrong. Ukrainians are paying the price. Judging by his attitudes towards Britain and Germany, the gallant President Zelensky seems to agree.

Sir Julian Brazier

Former MP for Canterbury and Whitstable