British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. PA
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. PA
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. PA
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. PA

Liz Truss seeks a ‘global Nato’ approach to allies


Thomas Harding
  • English
  • Arabic

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said the defence of one by all at the heart of the Nato alliance must become a global security and economic principle.

Ms Truss told leaders at Mansion House in the City of London that the new geopolitics after the Russian invasion of Ukraine meant that Nato countries should operate defence alliances beyond Europe.

“I mean that Nato must have a global outlook, ready to tackle global threats,” she said. “We need to pre-empt threats in the Indo-Pacific, working with allies like Japan and Australia to ensure that the Pacific is protected.”

Ms Truss said the G7 countries should adopt a similar approach, “collectively defending our prosperity”.

She said the UK would go “further and faster” in providing the heavy weapons required to push Russia out of all of Ukraine.

Ms Truss said it was “time for courage, not caution”, making it necessary for the West to send warplanes to Kyiv to defeat Moscow.

But she also warned that the invasion had shown global institutions, such as the UN and G20, had failed to curtail Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions, with the country's veto on the Security Council a “green light to barbarism”.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss speaks at the Easter Banquet at Mansion House in the City of London, on April 27. PA
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss speaks at the Easter Banquet at Mansion House in the City of London, on April 27. PA

Ms Truss's outspoken demand to drive Russia out of Ukraine, including its removal from Crimea and the separatist territories seized in 2014, was the clearest signal yet that the West would not compromise until Mr Putin’s troops had been entirely thrown out.

The speech will further heighten tension after a British defence minister this week said it was “legitimate” for arms supplied by the UK to be used on targets inside Russia.

Moscow has responded by again raising the threat of nuclear war, suggesting it could strike supply lines outside Ukraine, possibly in Poland.

But Ms Truss was stark in her comments, which are among the strongest messages yet to Moscow that it now faces a formidable foe in Nato and an immense challenge in Ukraine.

“We will keep going further and faster to push Russia out of the whole of Ukraine,” she said on Wednesday evening.

“Some argue we shouldn’t provide heavy weapons for fear of provoking something worse. Inaction would be the greatest provocation. This is a time for courage, not caution.”

Despite Nato countries sending artillery, heavy anti-aircraft weapons, tanks and advanced missiles, Ms Truss urged them to “double down” in support for Ukraine as the war could be a “long haul”.

“Heavy weapons, tanks, aeroplanes – digging deep into our inventories, ramping up production, we need to do all of this,” she said.

“We cannot be complacent. The fate of Ukraine remains in the balance."

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss speaking at the Easter Banquet at Mansion House in the City of London, on April 27. PA
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss speaking at the Easter Banquet at Mansion House in the City of London, on April 27. PA

If Mr Putin were victorious, there would be “untold further misery across Europe”, and “terrible consequences across the globe”.

Ms Truss said Europe must cut itself off from Russian energy supplies and stop sending millions of dollars into Mr Putin’s war chest.

“There must be nowhere for Putin to go to fund this appalling war,” she said. “That means cutting off oil and gas imports once and for all.”

Ms Truss said Nato must ensure the security of other East European countries that are prone to Russian aggression, including Moldova, Georgia and the Western Balkans.

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
While you're here
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Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

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Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic

Power: 242bhp

Torque: 370Nm

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5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi

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6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi

Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Brief scoreline:

Manchester United 2

Rashford 28', Martial 72'

Watford 1

Doucoure 90'

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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

The biog

From: Ras Al Khaimah

Age: 50

Profession: Electronic engineer, worked with Etisalat for the past 20 years

Hobbies: 'Anything that involves exploration, hunting, fishing, mountaineering, the sea, hiking, scuba diving, and adventure sports'

Favourite quote: 'Life is so simple, enjoy it'

If you go...

Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

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UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

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Canada

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Singapore

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Australia

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Saudi Arabia

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South Korea

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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

How to donate

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press

The Outsider

Stephen King, Penguin

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Updated: April 28, 2022, 9:11 AM`