In 2014, the West's reaction to the Russian invasion of Crimea was insufficient.
< p>British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called «a terrible mistake» Western reaction to the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. He stressed that Putin committed an act of violent aggression, took away its territory from a sovereign country, and he got away with it, reports the Chronicle.info with reference to RBC-Ukraine.
«The West then made a terrible mistake. The leader of the Russian Federation committed an act of violent aggression and took away a significant part of the territory of a sovereign state — and we let him stay with those achievements. We thought we could get back to normal somehow», — Johnson said.
He stressed that after that, trade with the Russian Federation not only continued, but also intensified, and European countries became even more dependent on Russian gas.
«And when he (Putin — ed.) decided to start his brutal war against Ukraine, he knew that it would be very difficult for the world to punish him — he knew he had created that addiction. Therefore, he allows himself to bomb maternity hospitals, feels that he can indiscriminately bombard families fleeing the war», — Johnson emphasized.
The British Prime Minister drew attention to the fact that «bombs are falling, and oil and gas prices are soaring even higher» — which means «even less money in your pocket and even more — Putin».
«This cannot go on. The world cannot live permanently in such blackmail. And as long as the West is economically dependent on Putin, it can and will use this dependence. Therefore, this addiction must stop, and it will stop», — Johnson stated.
According to him, Russia's large reserves of energy resources are both a strength and a weakness for Putin, since «he has nothing else» what could be successfully exported, and if the Russian Federation is left without oil and gas revenues, this will create significant problems for it.
«The United States has already announced an embargo on Russian oil imports. Britain will do the same. The EU has agreed to cut off Russian energy resources as soon as possible. And we will cooperate as much as possible with them and all free world supporters to work together and make this transition easier for all of us», — Johnson said.
He added that the strategy should be based on renewable energy.
«Britain plans to present a British energy security strategy later this month — to make Britain «more self-sufficient and independent of like Putin», — summarized Johnson.