British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Thursday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a “grotesque affront to shared values” and stressed that Kyiv’s victory in the war “the only outcome that will protect the future of Europe.”

“Nation-states must be free, free to decide their own destinies, to realize their potential. The Russian invasion of Ukraine aims to crush that freedom.”Sunak said this in a message read by British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Fergus Old on the opening day of the 10th Global Forum in Baku, organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center.

Thus, he stressed that “Great Britain will continue to support a free Ukraine” and pointed out that “the only outcome that will protect the future of Europe and the principles of freedom and sovereignty is the victory of Ukraine.”

Sunak lamented that “thousands of lives were lost and millions were injured in a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to subdue a sovereign nation”, and condemned that “faced with the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian population and its own military failures, Russia has cynically aimed its fire at civilian infrastructure.”

The “premier” also assured “Azerbaijan’s contribution to collective security” and stated that European countries “deprive Russia of the opportunity to use energy resources for control and manipulation.”

“Now there are two imperatives: a reliable energy supply and at an affordable price, and the rejection of fossil fuels that are detrimental to our climate,” Sunak explained, stressing that “Azerbaijan’s ability to supply renewable energy across the Black Sea it represents a bright future.”

Shortly before, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev indicated that Baku had “significantly increased gas supplies to Europe” since the start of the war. He also stated that the Azerbaijani authorities are “working for expansion of gas pipelines for export”.

In this sense, Sunak expressed the wish that “green transformation can be accelerated, in parallel with the expansion of gas supplies along the southern corridor”, while arguing that “British companies and institutions will remain key partners in Azerbaijan’s energy transition”.