Tougher sanctions needed on Russian oil and gas, says British ambassador to Ireland 

British Ambassador to Ireland Paul Johnston, delivering a keynote address at University College  Cork, called for further sanctions on oil and gas from Russia.

A woman walks past tanks of Donetsk People's Republic militia in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday. Picture:AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)

Tougher sanctions on Russia are needed on oil and gas to stymie Vladamir Putin’s ability to wage war in Ukraine, the British Ambassador to Ireland has said.

Delivering a keynote address at University College Cork, Ambassador Paul Johnston also said international organisations and structures have failed Ukraine by failing to stand up to Russia.

He said too many Western countries have been less than honest with themselves over the past decade about the nature of the challenge posed by Russia and other autocratic states.

Mr Johnston was speaking on Friday as part of the Jean Monnet Lecture Series at UCC.

A former representative to Nato and in Brussels, he said his lecture was a personal reflection and not the formal or official British Government position.

Mr Johnston said inaction can be the greatest provocation to aggression.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine — and indeed China’s growing assertiveness — have destroyed the idea that economic integration alone can drive political change or that countries will naturally evolve towards democracy and human rights without help or indeed protection," he said.

Exploring the current situation in Ukraine, he said the international structures developed after World War II and evolved after the Cold War had failed to deal with the challenge posed by Russia.

He said the structures have failed Ukraine.

Calling for the imposition of tougher sanctions, Mr Johnston said imports of Russian oil and gas must be stopped.

British Ambassador to Ireland Paul Johnston says tougher sanctions are needed to stop Russia's ability to wage war in Ukraine.

"The fate of Ukraine remains in the balance. We need to go further, including by being even tougher on sanctions. We must cut off oil and gas imports so Putin has nowhere to go to fund his appalling war. And we must put in a place robust and sustained humanitarian response to support the Ukrainian people.” 

Mr Johnston said that a Ukrainian victory is "a strategic imperative".

He said a win for Russian President Vladimir Putin would encourage aggressors everywhere.

He said the last 10 years have seen perhaps too many in the West being less than honest with themselves about the nature of the challenge we have faced from Russia and other autocratic states.

Common Interest

While his government chose not to seek a formal structured treaty relationship with the EU in the area of foreign and security policy during negotiations leading up to Brexit, it had always made clear that Britain would work closely with the European Union, its institutions and its member states in pursuit of common interests, Mr Johnston said.

"What the Ukraine crisis has shown us, as indeed did the Kosovo crisis a quarter of a century before, is that the interests and values which unite us as Europeans and indeed across the political West, are more important than the issues that can sometimes appear to divide us." 

Appointed to his post in 2020, Mr Johnston, a Scot, previously served in Paris and New York and has held a wide range of political and security roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. From 2017 to 2020, he was UK Ambassador to the EU for Political and Security Affairs.