British Prime Minister: Any unilateral Russian call for a ceasefire is pointless

“We must be clear that any unilateral Russian call for a ceasefire is completely meaningless under the circumstances,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at the British-led Joint Forces Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit in Riga, Latvia, on December 19. I think it would be a false call.” Sunak added that “it will be used by Russia to regroup and strengthen their forces, and there can be no real negotiations and there should be no real negotiations” before they withdraw from conquered territories.

The British Expeditionary Force Joint Force (JEF) was formed in 2014 and is made up of NATO members Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway, plus non-NATO members Finland and Sweden. In recognition of the regional challenges facing Nordic and Baltic states, including continued Russian aggression, Sunak will “call on leaders at Monday’s summit to maintain or exceed 2022 levels of support for Ukraine through sustained lethal assistance, economic resilience and political support in 2023,” according to Downing Street ahead of the meeting. The UK noted that Sunak’s call came as the UK announced it would supply hundreds of thousands of artillery munitions next year under a 250 million pound contract that would ensure the continued supply of critical artillery ammunition to Ukraine throughout 2023.

Sunak held a summit with the Nordic and Baltic heads of state on Monday, attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyk Zelensky online. In his opening remarks, Sunak noted that “Vladimir [Zelensky] and his people are indeed an inspiration to us all. They have shown that, thanks to their determination, Mr Putin is realising that he cannot win on the battlefield. And that means that he is now escalating the conflict with, frankly, appalling consequences for the people of Ukraine.”

“I saw the consequences for myself during my recent visit to Ukraine, and I am sure we will hear more about it soon,” Sunak said. The countries of the Joint Expeditionary Force, all of us here are Ukraine’s closest friends and Allies. So far, we have taken the lead in supporting them, and I know we will continue to do so.”

“I think there are three priorities that we need to consider as we think about next year,” Sunak said. I think the first is to make sure that we provide more military assistance and that it evolves to meet the situation that we are facing. It means more air defense systems, it means artillery, it means armored vehicles. As far as the UK is concerned, we have pledged to match or exceed the £2.3bn we are giving this year next year, and I very much hope and encourage other countries here to do what they can to continue their strong support.”

“I think, secondly, as [Latvian Prime Minister] Krisjanis Karins mentioned, we have to make it clear that under the current circumstances any unilateral Russian call for a ceasefire is completely meaningless,” Sunak said. I think it would be a false call. It will be used by Russia to regroup, to strengthen their forces, and there can be no real negotiations and there should be no real negotiations until they withdraw from conquered territories.”