2nd April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Heavily armed Russian troops seize Crimea, part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine with a population similar to Latvia and an area larger than Israel. President Putin says Crimea “has always been an inalienable part” of Russian territory; and announces its permanent annexation. How should we respond? I’ve just returned to Istanbul from four weeks […]
Read more on Why Ukraine matters and what happens next | Reply (11)
26th March 2014
London, UK
From my window in the Foreign Office, you can just about see St James’ Park, and it’s easy on a sunny, spring day to be infused with a sense of optimism and general wellbeing. But elsewhere in Europe, there is a chill in the air. I have just returned from Lithuania and Latvia, where memories […]
Read more on Europe – a chill wind blowing | Reply
18th March 2014
Dublin, Ireland
President Putin has now signed a decree recognising Crimea as a sovereign state. The United Kingdom, in common with Poland, the rest of the European Union and the majority of the international community, does not recognise the 16th March Crimea referendum or its outcome as legal or legitimate. Both the British and Polish governments have […]
Read more on Crimea: a sham referendum | Reply (1)
17th March 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
When Pope Francis spoke about Ukraine at the Sunday Angelus on 2 March, he called for all Ukrainians to overcome misunderstandings and to build the future of the nation together and made “a heartfelt appeal to the international community to support every initiative on behalf of dialogue and concord”. Regrettably, there is one country in […]
Read more on Russia defies the Pope, and the world, on Ukraine | Reply
15th March 2014
Dublin, Ireland
Resolving the Ukraine crisis is a top priority for Britain and Poland: this matters to us because we both believe in a world where the rule of law is upheld and territorial integrity respected. We need to deter further Russian military action and de-escalate the situation. Our Prime Ministers David Cameron and Donald Tusk have […]
Read more on Ukrainians must choose their own future | Reply
10th March 2014
Paris, France
I’ve talked before about the events in Kiev, at a time when they reminded me of the fall of the Berlin wall, and the extraordinary surge of freedom and independence that happened after that in Eastern Europe. Since then, things have got more difficult, because we’ve had what is obviously an intervention of Russian armed […]
Read more on Bringing Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table | Reply
13th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In the Palm Court of the British Consulate-General in Istanbul, staff are gathered from British Embassies in eight South Caucasus and Central Asian countries1 ranging from Georgia in the west to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in the east. Trade and Investment specialists from the British Embassy in Moscow and from UK Trade and Investment in London as […]
Read more on Helping British Businesses from Istanbul to Bishkek to Moscow and beyond | Reply (2)
