UK Rejects Calls for Talks With Putin, Says There’s No Evidence He Wants Peace

The United Kingdom does not support proposals by France and Italy to resume direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper said in an interview with Politico on January 15.

Cooper said London sees no indication that Moscow is genuinely prepared to pursue peace, arguing that diplomatic engagement should be guided by evidence rather than political signaling.

“I think what we need is evidence that Putin actually wants peace, and at the moment, I’m still not seeing that,” she said.

According to Cooper, the current focus of diplomacy lies with Ukraine and its closest partners, not with renewed outreach to Moscow.

“What we’ve seen is the huge commitment to work being done by Ukraine, with the US and supported by Europe to draw up plans for peace including security guarantees,” she said. “But so far, I don’t see the evidence that Putin is yet willing to come to the table, or yet willing to have discussions.”

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In the absence of such evidence, Cooper said pressure on Russia should increase rather than ease, combining economic measures with continued military assistance to Ukraine.

“I think we’ve still got to be ready alongside this really important work to put increased pressure, economic pressure, and also through the military support to Ukraine, that military pressure on Russia as well,” Cooper added.

Earlier, reports emerged that Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s persistent hardline stance in negotiations periodically irritated US President Donald Trump and complicated efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine.

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