Boris Johnson has announced that the EU must choose between the freedom of Belarus or buying gas from Russia.
He urged allies to 'work ever more closely with those who do share our values and instincts', as he issued a warning over European reliance on Russian gas through the Nord Stream 2 supply line.
The Prime Minister made the comments in a speech to business leaders, diplomats and dignitaries at the Lord Mayor's Banquet in London tonight and said: 'So when we say that we support the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine, that is not because we want to be adversarial to Russia, or that we want in some way strategically to encircle or undermine that great country.
'And when our Polish friends asked for our help to deal with a contrived crisis on their border with Belarus, we were quick to respond.
Polish Territorial Defence Forces build additional fence where hundreds of migrants camp at the Belarus side of Kuznica Bialostocka-Bruzgi border crossing
Boris Johnson urged allies to 'work ever more closely with those who do share our values and instincts'
Large ground forces deployment on the northern edge of the town of Yelnya, Smolensk Oblast, Russia
Map showing points of origin and destination of the Nord Stream pipe (solid line) and Nord Stream 2 pipeline (dotted line) between Russia and Germany. Putin hoped Nord Stream 2 would be finished two years ago, allowing Russia to bypass Ukraine in the south, which carries 50% of gas from Russia out via Poland
Brussels has accused Mr Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin (left), of deliberately encouraging the migrants to breach its borders in retaliation for sanctions the EU has imposed in response to his repressive rule
'And we hope that our friends may recognise that a choice is shortly coming between mainlining ever more Russian hydrocarbons in giant new pipelines and sticking up for Ukraine and championing the cause of peace and stability, let me put it that way.'
It comes as Boris Johnson criticised the authoritarian president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, of an 'abhorrent' attempt to engineer a migrant crisis in an effort to undermine European unity.
He said the UK stands 'shoulder to shoulder' with its European allies as EU foreign ministers considered fresh sanctions against the regime in Minsk.
Thousands of migrants, mainly from the Middle East, are trapped
