UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday told lawmakers that G7 foreign ministers were able to find “common ground” on supporting Ukraine when they met in Canada last week, despite doubts that this would not be possible.
Lammy confirmed that a ceasefire offer is now on the table, saying that Ukraine is “serious about peace,” and emphasized that the ball is now in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s court.
“Now it is Putin who stands in the spotlight, Putin who must answer, Putin who must choose. Are you serious, Mr Putin, about peace? Will you stop the fighting? Or will you drag your feet and play games, pay lip service to a ceasefire while still pummeling your prey?” Lammy said in the House of Commons.
“My warning to Mr. Putin is this-if you are serious, prove it with a full and unconditional ceasefire now,” he continued.
However, Lammy expressed concerns that Putin was not yet ready to accept a ceasefire, and said that the G7 was preparing further action to ensure Russia negotiates seriously.
“If Putin does not deliver, and I must tell the house that I currently see no sign yet that he is, the G7 meeting helped us ready the tools to get Russia to negotiate seriously. We’re not waiting for the Kremlin. If they reject a ceasefire, we have more cards that we can play,” he warned.
During the G7 discussions in Canada, Lammy revealed that plans were made to target Russia’s energy and defense sectors, tighten sanctions on oil revenues, and make use of frozen Russian assets.
“At the same time, we will keep up our support to Ukraine-Europeans clearly need to shoulder our share of this responsibility,” he added.