Cumbria’s Lord Campbell-Savours told the House of Lords that his calls for a solution to the war in Ukraine had gone unheard.
The former Workington MP was speaking in a debate on Ukraine in the upper house.
He said Russia knew for weeks that there was no desire by the West to intervene with a military strategy.
He added: “The unthinkable is happening as this tragedy unfolds. It was the danger of such conflict at the heart of Europe that motivated my three, criticised interventions in our chamber in recent weeks.
“It was that division within European defence establishments that signalled weakness and lack of resolve.
“The moment we signalled that division, compromise was inevitable. It was with that in mind that I repeatedly called for an alternative solution that offered a way forward.
“I suggested that we sought to negotiate an agreed-timescale, non-NATO membership Ukraine, along with buffer-state protectorate status under Ukraine sovereignty for Donetsk and Luhansk. Mine has been a lone voice. In my view, at that stage that was the only way forward.
“I need to make it clear that I am not some peacenik. In the Commons, I supported intervention in the Falklands, and in the case of Iraq I visited Washington on three occasions to lobby for varying forms of military intervention.
“I believe there is a complete misunderstanding in Europe of the consequences of heaping humiliation on a proud Russian people and a volatile Putin who fears democracy.
“It has been inevitable since the fall of the Soviet Union that Russia would seek to secure protection from an illusory NATO threat from behind a barrier of buffer states stretching from Finland in the north, through Belarus to Crimea in the south, the only countries excluded from this defensive strategy being Estonia and Latvia, which, strategically and militarily, are of little consequence.
“While all these developments have been taking place in recent years, Russia has constructed a new trading relationship with China while concentrating its western trade on oil supply, knowing the theatre: the greater the dependence, the less likelihood of obstruction of its foreign policy aims.
“The strategy could be said to have worked. We are now paying the price for our misplaced trust and naivety.
“However, that is all in the past. Where do we go from here? We should proceed with caution.
“Putin is seeking to put in place a puppet regime. We should avoid precipitate action and plan, but not yet implement, much of the programme of penalties.
“We need to give Putin’s people time to reflect and consider the potential response of their own people to international condemnation. While Russia is perfectly capable of withstanding unimaginable levels of suffering, common sense may well ultimately prevail among its people, many of whom have a close affinity with people in the West. I do not believe that the Russian people want the indefinite occupation of Ukraine.
“I am not convinced that an erratic Putin is trying to rebuild the former Soviet Union of satellite states. He wants buffer states. We all need to understand the internal contradictions, strains and anxieties that hold modern Russia together.
“Conflict would be a heavy price to pay for us all when an alternative way forward may still offer a glimmer of hope.
“In light of recent events, our defence position under a strong NATO has my support. In terms of popular support in Russia, I suspect Mr Putin is about to meet his Waterloo.”
Lord Walney – former Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock – called for Russia to be expelled from the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
He added: “With the removal of Russia’s permanent seat on the UN Security Council not being an option, its expulsion from the European community would be a worthwhile signal that Putin has made this great nation a pariah in the eyes of all those who are now threatened by it.
“Too often, recent discussions on the UK’s involvement in Europe’s defence and security approach have become a lament for Brexit.
“But we need to make the case that it is not in our neighbours’ interests to keep any European nation on the sidelines in the face of this common threat—particularly given the scale of the UK’s capability and will to act.
“It is absolutely down to us to show that we are willing to re-engage on a sustained basis to take diplomacy and our European alliances seriously.”
