site.btaUPDATED UK Foreign Secretary: If Putin Was Allowed to Take Over Part of Country, He Would Not Stop There

British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Cameron, who is on a working visit here on Wednesday, said, "The lessons of history are clear. If you allow a dictator like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to take over part of another country, he will not stop there, he will come back for more." Cameron said that being on the right side of history means fighting against Russia's illegal aggression.

The Foreign Secretary pointed out that Bulgaria has provided three packages of crucial aid to Ukraine. The UK has a GBP 2.5 billion package for Ukraine. Cameron urged the US Congress to do the right thing, to stand up for a country that is defending its borders, to recognize that Ukraine is a country that voted for independence in 1991. "Every part of it – Donbas, Crimea – all voted for independence,” he stressed and urged the Members of the US Congress to vote for their package on Wednesday.

Vladimir Putin is engaging in an illegal invasion and a war that cannot be won, the UK Foreign Secretary said.

Cameron stated that all that is needed now is political will from the countries that support Ukraine. "We have the economic strength, we have the military strength, we have the diplomatic strength, we know we are on the right side of fighting this illegal aggression. All we need to show is that we have the political will," he said.

Cameron said that the talks agenda earlier Wednesday included the issue of migration. He said: "It [migration] clearly affects my country with the small boat crossings that have been happening across the English Channel. I am glad to say they are down by a third over the recent period and not least because of the excellent support we have had from our friends and colleagues in Bulgaria who have done a lot to stop the import of these boats and engines that are used for the Channel crossings." He said there is continued effort to stand up to the organized criminal gangs that trade in people.

The Foreign Secretary stressed the importance of fighting the disinformation, particularly coming from Russia. “This is something that affects all countries, but perhaps particularly here – on the front line, as it were, of having Russian disinformation. Whether that is targeting oligarchs, whether it is targeting energy companies, whether it is targeting media companies or targeting political parties and politicians and weaponizing things like migrations to turn voters against you. We need to promote the positive side of what is happening in Bulgaria and we need to defeat and call out this disinformation”, he said.

He expressed admiration for Bulgaria’s economic performance in recent years and the work it has done to diversify its energy supplies away from Russian gas, oil and nuclear fuel. “We in Britain are determined to play our part in helping. Whether that is via the nuclear fuel we provide, whether it is via our expertise in renewals,” Cameron said.