'Russia is not going to be beaten' | David Owen on how the Ukraine invasion should end

The former Labour foreign secretary David Owen has said Keir Starmer is "wrong" to suggest Putin be put on trial at The Hague.

When asked whether he agrees with Keir Starmer, Lord Owen told Matt Chorley on Times Radio:

"I'm pretty wary of that. Firstly, it's not going to happen unless Russia is beaten, and Russia is not going to be beaten. I think it's the wrong language to use, quite frankly. We are not going to destroy Russia, so much so that they will offer up to The Hague. We're not going to send the SAS into Russia to seize Putin and take him to the Hague. A lot of these legal solutions, it's perhaps no accident that Starmer is a lawyer.

"We were able to do it in the Balkans which I know very well because we got a resolution through in the UN and we had support for international action and we had the special court that we set up to try war crimes committed in Yugoslavia, carried by the UN. We're not going to get that in Russia."

On whether the UK should send fighter jets to Ukraine, Lord Owen said:

"I personally think the best offer would be to go back to what was thought about, namely, let the MIGs in Poland go to the Ukrainians, and put our aircraft into Poland. That would be very quick.

"A new plane that they are not used to is not going to be that. What they need now is more MIGs. Their pilots fly MIGs, they could do it immediately. And Poland is ready to do it. But they can't give up all their aircraft themselves. They have to have replacements, so Britain could step in and supply aircraft to Poland."

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[harlequingnoll]

Alternate title "how to stop being bullied - just give him your lunch money"

[coxhoe]

He didn, t have a clue then and still hasn, t a clue now

[fulknerra]

doctor imagining that medical training somehow qualifies him to speak on any other subject with authority.

[MegaOev]

Ludicrous, good men have to stand up to evil!

[antoineharel]

Hat off to Poland and the polish people for their help to Ukraine...

[KingCharlesSpaniel]

David Owen, this is the man who lost to the Monster Raven Loony Party

[andrewdogman]

Don’t underestimate D Owen. I remember when Honduras put troops on the Belize/Honduras border he sent a frigate plus RM’s in the area he talked but backed it up with force.

[doubleplusgoodthinker]

I remember the time when Owen was Foreign Secretary. He just got about everything wrong. Nothing has changed.

[bradhombre]

The quote for used for the title is very misleading when taken out of context. He says Russia can be defeated in Ukraine. Later, when he says Russia won't be "beaten", he's referring to being "beaten" in the sense of toppling the Russian government completely. That's a far cry from kicking them out of a country they are invading.

[anthonyryan]

This man helped to keep Thatcher in power

[bobjrdj]

David Owen should check his memory. He was a leading figure in politics in the 1990's when Ukraine agreed to give back to Russia all of the nuclear weapons it had. A 1994 agreement (known as the Budapest Memorandum) signed by Russia, U.S. and UK guaranteeing Ukraine's security for de-nuclearising Ukraine. Europe also was involved in these talks and so the US, UK and Europe should stick to that agreement with Ukraine and ensure Russia is sent packing.

[IncognitoX]

It's pretty hard getting through an interview, where words like Wussia and Bwitain are present, makes me think about the biggus dickus sketch from Monty Python!

[JoSh-ujpw]

They don't make politicians like David Owen any more. The world is stuck with pound shop politicians.

[artmcteagle]

Well Owen makes some valid points but regarding Crimea he is wrong, after all that the Ukrainians have suffered and the countless war crimes, they will not accept Crimea remaining in Russian hands. As for Putin, who knows what the future will bring. Slobodan Milosevic thought he was untouchable too.

[ahartify]

I only remember how ineffective, contrarian and weak Owen was during the Yugoslavia conflict. He was also Milosevic's buddy - not a good look. He probably thinks Putin is a rather nice guy and would like to have 'dinner' with him one day, if he hasn't already. You should never allow medical doctors near a peace conference - they're always the worst. No, Russia is going to be defeated all right - Big Time.

[thomasstyan]

I've rarely felt more angry or disgusted with a British politician than in 1987.

This was when David Owen called a vote of the SDP membership over whether it should merge with the Liberals. He campaigned against the merger, but he lost the vote. He then spent the next few years trying to claim that that decision of the SDP had not happened.

How he had the sheer gall to complain about parliament over Brexit shows the shamelessness of the man.

[jeffsmall]

Its important to have dissenting views even if they are wrong, especially if they are wrong.

[ArianeQube]

"My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Go home and get a nice quiet sleep." - Neville Chamberlain, September 30th 1938 ...

[rodneybeard]

Former commander of Europe General Ben Hodges tends to disagree on Ukraine beating Russia

[antekovac]

We in Croatia remember this horrible non-person Owen very very badly.