WIREDGOV

The Prime Minister was yesterday in Indonesia for the first meeting of the G20 in the group’s 15-year history held in the shadow of a major European war instigated by one of its members.

• G20 meeting this week is the largest summit of major economies since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
• The UK and allies will use talks to call out Putin’s actions and their devastating, far-reaching impact on global food and energy prices
• A new generation of British frigates will bolster the UK’s defences and sustain 4,000 UK jobs

The summit comes as countries grapple with the ramifications of Putin’s brutality and disregard for sovereignty, with rising costs of food and energy hitting the world’s poorest.

Russia has acted with disregard for sovereignty and international law – pillars of the stable international system the G20 was created to preserve. At this week’s meeting, the Prime Minister and his fellow leaders will call out Putin’s callous disregard for human rights and stress that Russia’s role in the international system will never be normalised while the war in Ukraine continues.

The UK and allies are taking steps to bolster their security in the face of increased Russian threats. The Prime Minister yesterday announced the next phase in the Type 26 frigate programme, with a £4.2 billion contract awarded to BAE Systems to build five more ships for the Royal Navy – in addition to the three already under construction.

The project will support 1,700 jobs at the BAE systems sites in Govan and Scotstoun, Glasgow, over the next decade. 2,300 additional jobs will be supported in the supply chain across the UK.

The Prime Minister yesterday said:

“There can be no normalisation of Putin’s behaviour, which has no place in the international community.

“Russia’s actions put all of us at risk. As we give the Ukrainian people the support they need, we are also harnessing the breadth and depth of UK expertise to protect ourselves and our allies. This includes building the next generation of British warships.

“Putin and his proxies will never have a legitimate seat at the table until they end their illegal war in Ukraine. At the G20, the Putin regime – which has stifled domestic dissent and fabricated a veneer of validity only through violence – will hear the chorus of global opposition to its actions.”

Click here for the full press release