Sir Roger Gale
Member of Parliament for Herne Bay and Sandwich (including West Thanet)
 

“Appeasement is not the answer to Putin`s adventures in Ukraine” says Herne Bay and Sandwich MP Sir Roger Gale. 

Speaking following the Battle of Britain Sunday commemorations in Sandwich the veteran MP has said: 

“Appeasement was not the answer to Hitler during the Second World War and it is not the answer to Putin today. Putin only understands strength, not weakness and it is past time that the West gave the necessary consents to allow President Zelensky to use Storm Shadow weaponry to strike at the bases inside Russia from which Putin is currently launching devastation drone attacks of the kind that we saw yet again over the weekend on the civilian populations of towns like Kharkiv in Ukraine .  Putin is using his bases behind the Russian lines to wage his illegal war and under international law that makes those bases legitimate targets.  No amount of bullying rhetoric from the Kremlin should be allowed to change that.” 

Gale, who led the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (The PACE) for five years and served as President of that gathering of the (then) 47 Member States, adds: 

The western response to the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 was inadequate. It served to embolden Putin and led him to believe that Western reaction to further intrusions would be supine.  Worse, although the United Kingdom delegation and the Baltic States opposed the move the PACE - including Germany and France- voted to allow the Russian delegation to return to the Assembly and to vote and participate in all proceedings without further sanctions. That sent out completely the wrong message and I believe further emboldened Putin`s belief that if he invaded Ukraine the response would be minimal and the conflict short-lived.  He was wrong. 

We cannot, though, continue to require President Zelensky to continue to try to prosecute a war that is being fought on our behalf at huge cost in blood and treasure to Ukraine with one hand tied behind his back.  Ukraine has to be allowed, immediately, to defend itself and to take the offensive with all military means available – and that means missiles as well as ordnance. At present Putin is able to launch drones supplied by Iran against Ukraine with virtual impunity. Decisions have to be taken now because tomorrow will be too late and the governments of the Western world need to wake up to that and act today.

​