This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/09/russia-wants-to-be-a-competitor-not-partner-to-west-michael-fallon
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Russia wants to be a competitor not partner to west – Michael Fallon | Russia wants to be a competitor not partner to west – Michael Fallon |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Russia has become much more aggressive in the war in Syria and had chosen to be a “competitor not a partner” to the west, the UK’s defence secretary has said. | Russia has become much more aggressive in the war in Syria and had chosen to be a “competitor not a partner” to the west, the UK’s defence secretary has said. |
| As fears of a return to cold war politics grow, Michael Fallon told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday that Russian interference in Europe was “extremely concerning”. He supported the view of the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, who accused Russia of committing war crimes and said the country should be held accountable for allegedly bombing aid convoys in Syria. | |
| “It’s extremely concerning. We are seeing a much more aggressive Russia”, said Fallon. “We hoped Russia would become a partner to us in the west, but clearly Russia has decided to be a competitor. | |
| “They’ve been flexing their muscles in the Black Sea, they’ve been militarising the Crimea, we’ve seen this pressure on the Baltic states. And they’ve tried to interfere in elections, they even tried to interfere in the Dutch referendum on the Ukraine association agreement.” | “They’ve been flexing their muscles in the Black Sea, they’ve been militarising the Crimea, we’ve seen this pressure on the Baltic states. And they’ve tried to interfere in elections, they even tried to interfere in the Dutch referendum on the Ukraine association agreement.” |
| Russian aggression was a factor in preventing the UK from helping the trapped citizens of Aleppo, the eastern side of which could be destroyed by Christmas if the “cruel, constant” Russia-backed bombing of the Syrian city continues, the UN special envoy for Syria said this week. | |
| “[Russia] said right at the beginning they were going to help fight Daesh, they haven’t done that. They’ve been helping Assad bomb his own people,” said Fallon. | “[Russia] said right at the beginning they were going to help fight Daesh, they haven’t done that. They’ve been helping Assad bomb his own people,” said Fallon. |
| He added that Russia vetoed a UN resolution on Saturday, which called for an end to the bombing of the city by Syrian and Russian jets. Russia argued that the “distorted” resolution would provide cover to terrorists. The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, who is currently presiding over the security council, cast the veto against the Franco-Spanish resolution. | He added that Russia vetoed a UN resolution on Saturday, which called for an end to the bombing of the city by Syrian and Russian jets. Russia argued that the “distorted” resolution would provide cover to terrorists. The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, who is currently presiding over the security council, cast the veto against the Franco-Spanish resolution. |
| During heated exchanges in the security council meeting on Saturday, Matthew Rycroft, the UK ambassador to the UN, said: “This council cannot stand by while such misery is meted out on the people of Aleppo. And yet, thanks to you, Mr President, that is exactly what we are doing. Thanks to your actions today, Syrians will continue to lose their lives in Aleppo and beyond to Russian and Syrian bombing. Please stop now.” | During heated exchanges in the security council meeting on Saturday, Matthew Rycroft, the UK ambassador to the UN, said: “This council cannot stand by while such misery is meted out on the people of Aleppo. And yet, thanks to you, Mr President, that is exactly what we are doing. Thanks to your actions today, Syrians will continue to lose their lives in Aleppo and beyond to Russian and Syrian bombing. Please stop now.” |
| "I'm not going to intervene on the US election" says Michael Fallon when asked about Donald Trump #marr https://t.co/mclM5YUzY1 | "I'm not going to intervene on the US election" says Michael Fallon when asked about Donald Trump #marr https://t.co/mclM5YUzY1 |
| Fallon said the UK would continue to work for a political settlement in Syria but suggested Russia was “determined to prolong this civil war [...] conniving to bomb civilians and may indeed have been bombing civilians themselves”. | Fallon said the UK would continue to work for a political settlement in Syria but suggested Russia was “determined to prolong this civil war [...] conniving to bomb civilians and may indeed have been bombing civilians themselves”. |
| He said he would endorse Johnson’s claim that Russia was guilty of war crimes. “It looks like they did target that particular convoy and if that can be established, then yes they should be held accountable.” | |
| Asked how the UK could help the citizens of the besieged city, he said: “Some aid is through, very little, but some is getting through. We will continue to work on that, but it’s impossible to have safe zones if we can’t be sure that our planes won’t be attacked by Russia in the air for example.” | Asked how the UK could help the citizens of the besieged city, he said: “Some aid is through, very little, but some is getting through. We will continue to work on that, but it’s impossible to have safe zones if we can’t be sure that our planes won’t be attacked by Russia in the air for example.” |
| Asked about the claims by the recently retired commander of joint forces command, Gen Sir Richard Barrons, that the UK’s armed forces would not be able to protect the country from a full-scale attack by Russia or another major military power, Fallon said the government was increasing numbers and investing in equipment. “We wouldn’t be defending ourselves against Russia on our own, that’s the whole point of being in the Nato alliance and having collective defence,” he said. | Asked about the claims by the recently retired commander of joint forces command, Gen Sir Richard Barrons, that the UK’s armed forces would not be able to protect the country from a full-scale attack by Russia or another major military power, Fallon said the government was increasing numbers and investing in equipment. “We wouldn’t be defending ourselves against Russia on our own, that’s the whole point of being in the Nato alliance and having collective defence,” he said. |
| “The cuts that were imposed necessarily in 2010 because the budget was in a mess have stopped now, and in fact we are increasing the numbers in the navy and in the air force and our defence review last year committed us to a huge programme of investment in our armed forces.” | “The cuts that were imposed necessarily in 2010 because the budget was in a mess have stopped now, and in fact we are increasing the numbers in the navy and in the air force and our defence review last year committed us to a huge programme of investment in our armed forces.” |
| He added: “We are building aircraft carriers, we are adding more planes, we’re adding more equipment for special forces. We are building our defences up again and crucially we are meeting the 2% target. The real answer to Putin is that we should stay strong and be strong.” | He added: “We are building aircraft carriers, we are adding more planes, we’re adding more equipment for special forces. We are building our defences up again and crucially we are meeting the 2% target. The real answer to Putin is that we should stay strong and be strong.” |