On Friday 2nd September, Boris Johnson, the UK Foreign Secretary, indicated that the UK will continue to support the EU sanctions regime against Russia, stating that “events in Ukraine are still very worrying, and it’s important I think that we continue to keep pressure up on Russia and we see progress based on the Minsk Agreement. There can be no relaxation of that pressure until such time as we see the Minsk Agreement being advanced“.
This statement was made in Brussels, where Johnson was in talks with his EU counterparts. During these talks, Johnson stated that, notwithstanding Brexit, the UK is committed to European foreign security cooperation. Johnson reiterated that although the UK will be leaving the EU, “we are not leaving Europe“, adding that the UK Government under Prime Minister Theresa May “is absolutely committed to participation in European foreign policy cooperation and European defence and security cooperation“.
