The UK ambassador to the US Lord Mandelson has been slapped down by a defence minister for suggesting that Ukraine should commit to a ceasefire before Russia.
Lord Mandelson’s comments do not represent Government policy, armed forces minister Luke Pollard said.
The ambassador used an interview with American outlet ABC to say that Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky should give “unequivocal backing” to US President Donald Trump’s peace initiative.
Mr Trump’s overtures to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, with the possibility of Ukraine being sidelined in talks led by the White House and the Kremlin, has alarmed European leaders.
Lord Mandelson said a “very radical reset” was needed following the Oval Office row between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky.
“The reset has to consist of the United States and Ukraine getting back on the same page, President Zelensky giving his unequivocal backing to the initiative that President Trump is taking to end the war and to bring a just and lasting peace to Ukraine,” he said.
“And the Europeans too, they need to back the calls for a ceasefire, and – by the way – I think that Ukraine should be the first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow.”
But asked whether Lord Mandelson’s remarks reflected Government policy, Mr Pollard told Sky News: “No. It’s certainly right that Ukrainians want peace. I think of all the people on our continent that want peace, the Ukrainians want it the most.
“But we’re still in discussions, diplomatic engagement with our European, US and Ukrainian friends as to the shape of that deal.
“But it’s certainly right that the war could stop tomorrow if President Putin stopped his illegal and unprovoked aggression. He could stop this war.”
Asked whether Lord Mandelson misspoke, he said: “That’s not Government policy.”
