Time for NATO to change approach to Russia - British Foreign Office

The head of the British Foreign Office, Liz Truss, believes that the era of engagement with Russia is over, and now is the time for the alliance to reconsider relations with this country.

Truss made a statement at a dinner with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, Ukrinform reports citing CNN.

In her remarks, Truss told her NATO counterparts the "NATO-Russia Founding Act is dead and it is time to cast off an outdated approach to handling Russia,” the foreign office said.

"The age of engagement with Russia is over,” Truss said, adding that “we need a new approach to security in Europe, based on resilience, defense and deterrence," said Truss.

According to the top diplomat, NATO cannot allow "security vacuums" at the alliance's Eastern borders and should "rethink" support for countries "caught in the web of Russian influence" such as Georgia, Moldova, Sweden and Finland.

The foreign secretary also urged her partners to toughen sanctions and arm Ukraine "quickly and decisively ... to ensure Putin fails."

She also said she was working with her G7 counterparts to toughen sanctions on further Russian banks.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation unleashed an unprovoked war against Ukraine. The invaders have been shelling and bombing peaceful towns and villages across Ukraine, torturing and killing civilians.

Russia's aggression against Ukraine has provoked a firm and united response on the part of the European Union, which imposed tough sanctions on Russia, provided substantial political, economic, financial, and military support to Ukraine, and welcomed millions of Ukrainians fleeing Putin's war.