Liz Truss travels to Moscow with dubious plan of the toughest sanctions

The British Foreign Minister Liz Truss will meet on Thursday in Moscow with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrow, although her plan to have adopted the "toughest sanction regime Great Britain against Russia" in good time before the trip.

Truss told the MPs that the laws would be in force until February 10, but nothing was presented to the parliament, which was suspected of the opposition's deputies that the lawyers have difficulty formulating the comprehensive and unprecedented new laws.

Without the sanction laws, of which the government said they would use it if Russia would march into Ukraine, Truss' trip will be an important means of pressure.

Truss will be in Moscow, while British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be one of the closest allies in Europe on Thursday, before he travels to Brussels to meet the general secretary of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg.

The legislation announced by Truss "would" aim to do business for the Russian state or act in a sector of strategic importance for the Russian state ".

The laws would also authorize the British Ministry of Finance to impose sanctions against people who have to do with these companies. Before that, the United Kingdom could only impose sanctions against companies or individuals who are responsible for the destabilization of Ukraine.

Truss told the MPs on January 31: "The package that we propose as legislation will be in force until February 10th, which means that we are able to impose extensive sanctions in broad categories that really provide the strategic or economic performance of the Russian regime. And I am very sure that we will use these sanctions without fear or favor. ”

She said that, as soon as it is in the law, the law would come into force as soon as Russia invaded Ukraine if this were the case. Johnson said the sanctions would work as soon as a Russian “toe cap” crossed the border.

In a speech in front of the thought factory of the Royal United Services Institute, Pat McFadden said the shadow chief secretary of the Ministry of Finance: "I do not know where the promised legislation is."

He also asked the government to introduce its repeatedly delayed law of the Commercial Crime Act for reasons of national security. He said: "A large part of the wealth that is connected to people who are close to the Putin regime is bound to real estate in Great Britain. There is a very well developed group of law firms, consulting companies, trustees and PR companies that are willing to help these people and complain against people who could expose them."

Before visiting Moscow, Truss said: "Russia should have no doubt about the strength of our reaction. We have said many times that every further invasion would cause serious costs, also with a coordinated package of sanctions. Russia has the choice here. choose. "

In the publication of the Federal Foreign Office, no date for the inclusion of the sanctions in the Code was mentioned. The Guardian asked the Federal Foreign Office for a comment. Larger changes to British sanction legislation usually require parliamentary approval.

Layla Moran, the foreign policy spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats, said: "Liz Truss should stop hunting headlines, and finally hard against Putin's buddy, after they have broken their promises for years. Russia promises that flows to Great Britain. ”

Some government managers have proposed that the new laws will be ready by the end of the month.

The visit is the first of a British foreign minister for more than four years. The Federal Foreign Office said that Truss would urge the fact that Russia is sticking to the international agreements that have already signed-including the Helsinki closing file of the OSCE, the Minsker protocols and the Budapest memorandum, which ensures respect for independence and sovereignty of Ukraine.

The Federal Foreign Office said that the United Kingdom leads the international efforts to prevent an invasion. The country is at the forefront of the efforts to supply Ukraine with weapons.

However, the influence of Great Britain is restricted, since it is not a member of the Normandie format, the group of four from Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine, which should monitor the Minsk agreements on the future of the eastern region supported by Russia.