(...) Instead of offering the public empty phrases about laws and values, the British Foreign Secretary should have spoken as follows at the press conference:

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Good evening, members of the press!

I am pleased to meet with you after my conversation with my Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. During this conversation, we did not bore one another with disputes over treaties that Mr Lavrov does not respect, or about promises he has made but has no intention of keeping.

We made it clear to him that a potential invasion of Ukraine could cost Russia very, very dearly. So dearly that Mr Lavrov has neither estimated nor imagined it thus far. We plan to stop purchasing Russian gas; Europe will find energy suppliers elsewhere. We are prepared to support Ukrainian resistance for decades, if necessary. We will quadruple our support for the Russian opposition and Russian media. We want to be certain that the Russian people begin to hear and understand the true objectives and causes of a potential invasion, which is why we must speak about them as loudly as possible.

And if you, Mr Lavrov, are planning a change in the political system in Ukraine, we will get to work to ensure that there is a change in Russia.