Punish Putin for sickening aggression demands May
THERESA May condemned Russia’s ‘sickening’ behaviour last night – as its aircraft carrier prepared to pass through the English Channel on its way to the Med to bolster its Syrian bombing campaign.
The PM urged EU leaders to impose sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s regime, including asset freezes and travel bans.
Sources at No10 accused Russia of ‘killing people’, undermining democracy and statesponsored cyber attacks on the West.
Downing Street also suggested Russian generals could be pursued for war crimes over their country’s barbarism in Syria, with France and Britain said to be drawing up a hitlist of the guilty men.
But despite backing from France and Germany, it last night appeared that the EU would fail to agree firm action against Putin over Syria.
The draft conclusions of a European Council summit in Brussels yesterday and today say only that: ‘The EU is considering all options, including further restrictive measures targeting individuals and entities supporting the regime, should the current atrocities continue.’
Austria and other states opposed the idea of going any further.
Mrs May delivered her broadside against President Putin on the way into the summit. She called for a ‘robust and united European stance in the face of Russian aggression’, adding: ‘It is vital that we work together to continue to put pressure on Russia to stop these appalling atrocities – these sickening atrocities – in Syria.’
Some 2,700 people are thought to have been killed or injured since the Russian-backed bombardment of rebel-held Aleppo began last month in support of president, Bashar alAssad, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
The PM was speaking as eight Russian navy ships, including the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, headed south through the North Sea, monitored by the Royal Navy.
The frigate HMS Richmond and Type-45 destroyer HMS Duncan – the world’s most advanced airdefence destroyer – were despatched to ‘man-mark’ the flotilla.
The Russian fleet was expected to pass through the Strait of Dover into the English Channel at 6am today. The Admiral Kuznetsov, carrying surface-to-air and cruise missiles, 12 Su-33 fighters, support jets and attack helicopters, is being sent on its first combat mission. The 1,000ft ship, commissioned in 1990, has been used extensively in training exercises and has passed through the English Channel in 2014, when it was also watched closely by the Royal Navy.
Over a working dinner at the EU summit, Mrs May was expected to raise the prospect of war crimes being pursued against Russian individuals for atrocities in Aleppo.
A No10 source said she wanted to ‘keep options on the table, in particular in relation to those involved in perpetrating acts against civilians’. The source added: ‘We must be ready to take steps to change the way Russia thinks about this.’
Mrs May told European leaders Russia threatened Europe in three ways: Through its ‘aggressive behaviour’ in Ukraine; its ‘horrific’ military attacks in Syria; and its increasing use of cyber warfare to undermine Western ‘democratic values and institutions’.
Her call for an EU response to Russian atrocities in Syria was backed by former Nato secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
He said Italy wanted the EU to lift some of the sanctions imposed after the Russian annexation of
‘These appalling atrocities’
‘This is a show of strength’
Crimea and its support of rebels in Eastern Ukraine.
But he insisted the attacks in Syria ‘call for more sanctions rather than less sanctions’.
In Russia, TV Zvezda, run by the country’s Defence Ministry, boasted yesterday: ‘Nato got scared by Russian ships moving towards Syria.’
Retired Royal Navy commander Rear Admiral Chris Parry told BBC Radio 4: ‘This is a show of strength. They’ll trail their coat around the western side of Europe, down through the English Channel and say, “Hey, we’re on your patch”.’
He added: ‘It’s also a good opportunity to get intelligence on their latest weapon and sensor systems. Of course, we have never really allowed anybody in 600 years to go down the Channel unescorted.’