Feeble gestures in response to this unwarranted and unprovoked aggression in Crimea would amount to reckless and costly appeasement, emboldening an expansionist president who is watching to see what he can get away with. That is why it is vital that the Prime Minister pushes for firm action at the European Council on Thursday.

Standing up against this threat could mean painful confrontation, but far more damaging would be maintaining short term stability and leaving Russia’s worried neighbours to fend for themselves. These are proud nations who looked to countries like ours for support and friendship after the collapse of communism; the world will be a less safe place if the friendship of the European Union turns out to be hollow.

Krisen viser også noe annet: de som har sagt at forsvaret i fremtiden kun trenger å håndtere asymmetrisk krig, tar feil. Plutselig står vi i en situasjon der det er behov for klassisk forsvar; fly og skip.

If all future conflict is going to be against rogue states or insurgents, surely it was overkill for the Royal Navy to be able to deploy aircraft or maintain the continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent? But the events of this last week underlines how unpredictable the world remains. The fact that few predicted Russia’s change of strategy under Putin, even after the warning signs of the Georgia conflict in 2008, highlights the futility of forecasting with any degree of certainty the level and nature of the threat that will face the UK 30 years from now.

Vest-Europa har ikke vært spesielt opptatt av landene i øst. Det har ikke gått inn at deres fremtid innvirker på vår egen. Skulle landene i øst igjen falle under Moskvas dominans vil det få stor betydning for Vest-Europa.

Britain will thrive in a world where populations who strive for freedom from oppression can rely on the support of those nations who have been lucky enough to enjoy such liberty for centuries.

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But freedom is not free; it requires a determination to challenge those who would deny it to others.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10679640/John-Woodcock-We-will-pay-heavy-price-for-appeasing-Russia.html