Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said there is a “clear line between appeasement and a peace process” after Donald Trump’s chief negotiator on the Ukraine war described Vladimir Putin as a “humanitarian”.
Speaking on BBC Newsnight on Thursday (22 October), Streeting said he understood that people on the path of diplomacy might sometimes feel the need to be gracious to the host sitting in front of them. He added that there should be no doubt that Vladimir Putin is a “cold-blooded killer”.
Asked if he was saying this was appeasement by the United States, Streeting replied: “I’m saying don’t feed the crocodile”.
The phrase refers to a comment Winston Churchill made on neutral nations during the early stages of the Second World War, most commonly cited as “an appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last”.