1st July 2024 Kyiv, Ukraine
Crimea is a special and, in many regards, unique place in Ukraine. It has a distinctive climate, breathtaking views of sea and mountains that can’t be found anywhere else in the country. It has a multi-layered history with a rich heritage stretching from ancient to modern times. This is the context that created an incredibly […]
Read more on Crimea: a place to remember, learn from and return to | Reply
24th May 2022 Belgrade, Serbia
I am a diplomat not a historian. But as a diplomat you cannot escape or ignore history – and nor should you want to. It is desperately sad to see a country with a rich heritage being trapped by a re-imagined history rather than addressing present needs and future opportunities. Chatting over dinner about 15 […]
19th April 2022 Belgrade, Serbia
This joint article by Ambassadors Rafal Perl (Poland), Giles Norman (Canada) and Sian MacLeod (UK) first appeared in Serbian in ‘Nedeljnik’ on 14 April 2022. This week Protestant and Catholic churches around the world mark the darkest, most solemn days in the Christian year followed by celebration of Easter and hope for the future. Next […]
28th March 2022 Belgrade, Serbia
People around the world have watched in horror and disbelief as Russian military hardware wreaks death and destruction across Ukraine. Moscow’s decision to launch a brutal and bloody war is illegal and unjustified. It is unsurprising that the world has moved quickly to condemn the invasion, and actions such as targeting of maternity hospitals and […]
18th March 2022 Belgrade, Serbia
A Russian-British journalist friend, speaking on air this week, observed that ‘violence and propaganda go hand in hand’. He suggested that people accept propaganda and lies because of fear, and because the truth is too terrible to contemplate. Perhaps that helps explain the attempts of Russian representatives who had no part in the decision, to […]
Read more on Turning back the clock: the Kremlin’s war on truth | Reply
2nd March 2022 Belgrade, Serbia
The world watched with horror as Vladimir Putin ordered his armed forces to launch an unprovoked, unjustified and illegal attack upon Ukraine. People all around the world have witnessed with admiration the extraordinary calm courage shown by the people of Ukraine. As a young diplomat I first travelled to Ukraine in the late 1980s. I was in Moscow […]
Read more on Ukraine: a choice between right and wrong | Reply
14th July 2021 Vienna, Austria
“When you’re an ambassador,” the wise ex-ambassador told me, fixing me with her steely gaze, “you’re miles from London. For visibility, you have to do something that people identify with you – build a brand, if you like.” In January 2008 I attended a conference in Miami on my way to Anguilla (“British diplomat in […]
11th March 2021 Ukraine
Unabated coal burning does serious damage. As the dirtiest, most polluting way of producing energy, it’s cheap and plentiful, but it comes at a different sort of cost. Coalmines and coal-processing plants have caused heavy environmental damage: surface mining destroys natural habitats; burning coal releases large quantities of toxins into the air, increasing air pollution […]
Read more on Now is the time to speed up the move away from coal | Reply
20th July 2019 Stockholm, Sweden
One of the many things that the UK and Ukraine have in common is a keen interest in quality education. We are both countries that like to study (and play!) hard. The UK remains a destination of choice for Ukrainian students, who often leave my country as star graduates. International students come to the UK […]
Read more on British Council impact (and new offices) in Ukraine | Reply
4th April 2019 Stockholm, Sweden
Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The Alliance was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War by a group of European and North American countries, united by their desire to create a lasting peace in Europe. Much has changed in the world since 1949. Security threats are more diverse […]
Read more on NATO at 70: The Alliance stands with Ukraine | Reply (1)