Exclusive Interview with Former UK Prime Minister, Liz Truss

From the Editors:  Kyiv Post’s Special Correspondent in Poland Michal Kujawski took the following exclusive interview with the former UK British Prime Minister Liz Truss at the “Future of Europe Forum” organized this week in the Polish capital by the Warsaw Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation and ZPP.

MK: As the former Prime Minister of Great Britain in 2022, a country which has supported supports Ukraine very strongly from the very first day of Russia’s full-scale war against it, where, in your opinion, are we at more than two years down the road?

LT: Well, we need to give Ukraine as much support as we can. We need to enable them to use all possible weapons, and all possible tactics, in order to defeat Russia. And that is what needs to happen. And I continue to support in any way I can.

MK:  And many Western leaders in both NATO, as well as EU leaders and from other allies, state that we must support Ukraine with all necessary means. But I wonder if the West in your opinion is as united as it claims to be when we see, for example, the behavior of Slovakia and Hungary, or the aid stuck in Washington DC.

LT: I think the point needs to continue to be made that we are facing an axis of authoritarianism. This is not just about Russia. It's about China, it's about Iran. And they're all working together just trying to undermine the West. And that is why we need to be absolutely resolute in not allowing Putin to win. Because if he were to win, first of all, he wouldn't stop at Ukraine. We know that. We know that he would threaten the Baltic States, Moldova. But also, we know that President Xi would see it as a green light to invade Taiwan and to increase his and China's power. So, this would be a massive mistake for the West and why we need to keep pushing.

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MK: You mentioned Iran, China and Russia. Speaking of the West, if we look at the streets of European capitals, as well as some American cities, we see huge social support, for example, for Hamas, in the case of the conflict in Israel. What happened?

LT:  Well, it's appalling. And what's happened is that for too long, these left-wing ideas have been tolerated and appeased rather than taken on. And you know, it's not a coincidence that quite often these people are connected with the extreme environmental movement, they're connected with the anti-capitalist movement. And what it’s about is trying to undermine Western values from within. So, we need to take them on, and we need to take them on in the battle of ideas and win the battle of ideas. But we also need to make sure we are investing in our defense as well. So, 

MK: That’s about the left. What about the conservatives?  We see conservatives freezing further aid for Ukraine. What happened with Ronald Reagan’s heritage? Look at recent developments in the US capital.

LT: Well, I want to see the US give maximum support to Ukraine and enable it to use all weapons and all tactics, including planes, long range weapons. I was at a conservative conference recently in in the US and I didn't hear a single person who was backing Russia. Everyone I spoke to wanted Russia to lose. And I think part of this is making sure that we are clear about what the war aims are, how Ukraine is going to achieve victory, and why it's important to defeat Russia. That, as you know, is the argument that is still being had.

MK: Speaking of Russia as a threat to the European security system, last year, I spoke with Lord Maurice Glasman from Labour Party. He believes there is a need to create new alliances, like, like for example, a Northern alliance between Great Britain, Nordic countries, the Baltic States and Poland. What do you think about this?

LT: I'm very supportive of his idea. We already do this thing called the JEF, the Joint Expeditionary Force, which includes a lot of those nations who feel threatened. I think we need an economic NATO, which is all of the free world, making sure we're collectively dealing with the Russia and China threat. So, yes, I'm very much in favor of those types of alliances.

MK:  Thank you very much for the interview.