Last week, while in Munich, I met Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s minister of foreign affairs. When I introduced myself to him as a British MP, he turned his heel. Cowards like him, Putin and Al-Assad respect one thing alone – strength and leadership. But Britain lost that in 2013 after Parliament voted against military action in Syria – and we have continued to lose political respect ever since.
In fact, the world is so turned on its head, that in comparison, Donald Trump’s actions in the unilateral US strike in 2016 into Syria following another use of chemical weapons made him look like he was – unlike Britain – prepared to stand up for something. Donald Trump, leading the way in moral leadership. How ironic.
In the past week, Syria has seen an uptick in civilian deaths. 7 Feb saw the first fatal meeting of US and Russian forces since the end of the Cold War, although thanks to Britain’s own political chaos, most of us missed it.
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