S. Jaishankar exchanges perspectives on Ukraine with UK Foreign Secy Liz Truss

New Delhi, Feb 24 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday held a telephonic discussion with UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on the Ukraine situation, as the UK termed Russia’s “assault on Ukraine as an unprovoked, premeditated attack”. UK PM Boris Johnson has also announced that his country will work with all its allies “for however long it takes” to ensure the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine is restored. The EAM said in a tweet: “A telephonic discussion with UK Foreign Secretary @trussliz. “Exchanged perspectives on the Ukrainian situation.” The UK Foreign Ministry in a statement termed “Russia’s assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state”. It said that the UK and its international partners stand united in condemning the Russian government’s “reprehensible actions, which are an egregious violation of international law and the UN Charter”. “Over recent weeks, the Russian government have repeatedly denied their hostile intent towards Ukraine. At the same time, they have massed troops, launched cyber-attacks, and staged false pretexts and provocations. Today, the Russian government has shown that it was never serious about engaging in diplomacy – focussed only on deceit and furthering their territorial ambitions”. “We are urgently convening discussions with our allies and partners to coordinate our response. Together we will hold the Russian government to account.” “We have always been clear there would be massive consequences and a severe cost for any Russian military incursion into Ukraine. As a result of their actions, we will today launch an unprecedented package of further sanctions that we have developed with our international partners,” it said. “To ensure the security and defence of all our Allies, we will continue to work together to make sure that Russia cannot further undermine European stability.” “We will continue to support the Ukrainian government in the face of this assault on their sovereignty and territorial integrity.”