Ukraine crisis: UK PM Boris Johnson outlines 6-point plan

"We can't then also give room for them to sue their way out of sanctions, while gagging the UK's media. Lawfare is not the way we do things in this country. The freedom of the British press is to be cherished, respected, and protected," said Labour Leader Keir Starmer.

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday outlined a six-point plan to resolve the Russia-Ukraine crisis, calling for renewed international efforts to bring an end to the conflict. Writing in 'The New York Times' ahead of hosting world leaders at 10 Downing Street in London next week, Johnson reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin must fail in his attempt to rewrite the rules of international order "by military force".

His six-point plan of how the international community should work towards resolving the crisis covers humanitarian and military support, economic sanctions, an attempt to find a diplomatic solution, and a renewed effort to strengthen security across Europe. "Putin must fail and must be seen to fail in this act of aggression. It is not enough to express our support for the rules-based international order we must defend it against a sustained attempt to rewrite the rules by military force, writes Johnson. "The world is watching. It is not future historians but the people of Ukraine who will be our judge," he said.

The six points covered in his strategy include:

1. World leaders should mobilise an "international humanitarian coalition" for Ukraine
2. They should also support Ukraine "in its efforts to provide for its own self-defence"
3. Economic pressure on Russia should be ratcheted up
4. The international community must resist Russia's "creeping normalisation" of its actions in Ukraine
5. Diplomatic resolutions to the war must be pursued, but only with the full participation of Ukraine's legitimate government
6. There should be a "rapid campaign to strengthen security and resilience" among North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch PM Mark Rutte will visit him for talks on Monday, followed by leaders of the V4 group of central European nations the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia on Tuesday. The Opposition Labour Party is calling on Johnson to bring forward new legislation to block Russian oligarchs from pursuing high-cost legal claims through British courts to avoid sanctions.

The so-called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation have previously been used to censor and threaten journalists and activists. "We are already behind the rest of the world in enforcing sanctions against oligarchs funding Putin's murderous invasion of Ukraine, said Labour Leader Keir Starmer.

"We can't then also give room for them to sue their way out of sanctions, while gagging the UK's media. Lawfare is not the way we do things in this country. The freedom of the British press is to be cherished, respected, and protected," he said.

Meanwhile, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned President Putin not to underestimate the West as he said if allies stuck together and refused to be intimidated, he was sure the Russian leader would fail in his invasion of Ukraine.

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph', Wallace said the West "must not be afraid of Putin", who he said was "acting irrationally and inflicting horrors on Ukraine".

In the latest UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) assessment of the ongoing conflict, the scale and strength of Ukrainian resistance to Russian attacks has been lauded.

PTI