It may be recess but diplomacy does not stop. Last week Boris Johnson welcomed one of the main Belarusian opposition leaders Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to Downing Street to show his support for the cause.
According to a No. 10 readout of the meeting, the Prime Minister claimed that the British people shared with Belarusians ‘fundamental values such as a belief in democracy, human rights and rule of law’ and that the UK “stands in solidarity of the people of Belarus and will continue to take action to support them.’
Johnson subsequently met this rhetoric with actions yesterday when the UK introduced trade, financial and aviation sanctions on the Lukashenko regime in response to its continued undermining of democracy and human rights violations. Inspiring stuff but it left Steerpike wondering when such resolve will be shown towards Beijing over similar actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang?
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