Responding to Liz Truss’s visit to Australia, thereby missing a meeting of the ‘Quad’ (comprising the US secretary of state Antony Blinken; French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock) to discuss the Russia/Ukraine crisis, Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, commented: “Agreements with Australia are all well and good – but is flying to the other side of the world really a matter of diplomatic urgency at a moment when Europe is coming perilously close to war?
“At this moment of danger, we would expect the Foreign Secretary to be at the table, with her counterparts from the US, France and Germany. But she’s not in the room – she’s not even on the continent.
“Truss’s diplomatic priorities are half a world away from where they should be. For the second time in as many weeks, she’s dispatched her junior counterpart to vital talks – shrinking our role on the world stage at this critical time. Vladimir Putin will be rubbing his hand in glee.
“What is it with Conservative Foreign Secretaries and chasing the sun in moments of crisis? Truss should stop following in the footsteps of her predecessor she should start doing her job as Foreign Secretary. She should join this meeting and show she is willing to work with others to stand up to Putin and his aggression.”