Mr Speaker,
I thank the Right Honourable Lady for introducing this legislation and for explaining the merits behind it in such a succinct and straightforward manner.
I don’t think there is anyone here who can look at the way that Russia has acted on the international stage and then say that they are a fair dealer or fair player in the international community- before we even consider the potential actions here in the Baltics region. The unjust annexation of Crimea- an act which the Coalition Government of the time did little to combat or fight back against, I should note- Russia’s actions to support breakaway republics and promote instability in the Caucasus while ignoring the plight of certain people within the country to push for greater recognition and rights, the constant attacks on basic human rights and dignity for LGBT+ individuals and women, the inability of Russia to act within its own so-called sphere of influence to stop massacres against minority populations during and following the breakup of Yugoslavia…
Well, Mr Speaker, it is sufficient to say this list would go on and on. But the point is clear that we cannot accept, particularly with lives and security of a European partner at stake, business as usual. And for that I applaud this Government for actually taking action where its Conservative and Coalition predecessors failed to try to push back against a more and more aggressive Russian state.
That’s not to say this act isn’t without question, and I hope that the Government will help enlighten this House on a few matters.
- The sanctions proposed target “any institution or body” in the Russian Federation; is this limited to government-linked groups, or will this put serious economic pressure on Russia by including businesses as well in the sanctions?
- If this legislation is truly strengthening our sanctions regime, is this also cutting off business-to-business links and transactions between Russia and the UK, or is it only targeting a few government-related institutions?
- And what is the role of the international community in stepping up sanctions as well? The Government has stated that this will have an impact valued at £12.3 billion. However, Russia’s GDP is estimated to be on the order of £1.04 trillion; that is, the impact of our sanctions regime is 1/87th the size of the Russian economy. While we’re tightening the screws on Russian businesses and oligarchs and political officials and families by targeting remittances and travel and investment, arguably we want to also make sure we’re working with other countries to have a larger impact. What has this Government done to convince others- particularly Continental countries which happily buy Russian gas and oil- to join in on taking a stand?
I believe that sanctions work best when they are broad, which these certainly are, and when they are multiplied internationally by having more partners. I hope that in the coming days we can see other countries considering tougher measures and joining in the UK’s leadership as well. Simply “encouraging” them to act in a speech isn’t sufficient… I’m afraid that the Right Honourable Lady might need to take a number of long flights around the world in order to build greater support for these and similar measures to multiply their effectiveness. But I know that the Opposition will support those actions if it means we get to the point where we all want to be: a Russia that acts in line with international norms and greater peace and security in Europe and the world.
Of course we cannot forget there will be a cost to us as well as Russia takes on similar measures. From a moral standpoint, it can be argued that cost is worth it, but hopefully the Government will report on measures that Russia is taking and hopefully this Government will also be prepared to help ease the pain of Russian sanctions while we continue to tighten our own.
Hopefully these sanctions- joined by the international community- will teach Russia a lesson that they ought to have learned a long time ago. If not, then I hope this Government has a plan forward- a plan to tighten sanctions, to continue to isolate Russia from the international community, to seek the changed behavior that fits with international norms. I know there is room to do more and I hope the Government is ready and able to do more as is needed. But we support taking a strong stance such as this and hope that these measures do what we need them to.