Keir Starmer has failed to rule out Russia returning to the G7 group of nations on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
His security minister Dan Jarvis said it was “a matter to be discussed with international allies” when he was pressed on whether the country should be allowed back into the group.
“And that is a matter that no doubt will be considered at the point at which the conflict in Ukraine has been concluded. And we need to get to that point as quickly as we possibly can,” Mr Jarvis told Times Radio.
He also described Sir Keir Starmer as an “honest broker”, adding that there is “a range of conversations taking place with international allies”.
“And the prime minister will be discussing, I'm sure, a range of matters relating to Russia and Ukraine and other matters as well,” Mr Jarvis added.
Downing St also failed to rule out Russia rejoining the G7.
No 10 said the move could not happen while Russia still has illegal troops in Ukraine, but said that beyond that they were “not going to get ahead of talks”.
The Liberal Democrats said the government’s failure to categorically rule out a Russian return to the G7 was “deeply concerning”. Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller told The Independent: “It sends the wrong signal to Ukraine and further emboldens Putin - who’s already celebrating his proxy Trump peddling the Kremlin’s propaganda.
"Ukraine is not a pawn to be used to win favour in Washington. Labour needs to rule this out, immediately.
"Putin's illegal war on Ukraine has crippled the country and caused thousands of deaths. The UK and our allies were right to sanction Russia and isolate it diplomatically. The UK should be seizing Russian assets and repurposing them to boost Ukrainian forces - not preparing to welcome Putin back into the fold.”
Russia was expelled from what was then the G8 in 2014 over its illegal annexation of Crimea, and the UK’s policy was previously to oppose its readmission, as has been proposed by Donald Trump.
In 2020, Downing Street confirmed Britain would use its veto to block Russia’s readmission, while in February Mr Trump has again floated Russia’s readmission to the group of the world’s major industrialised democracies.
“I'd love to have them back, I think it was a mistake to throw them out,” Mr Trump said following a call with Putin this month.
Russia has previously said it has no intention of returning to the G7 group.
Mr Jarvis’s failure to rule out Russia being readmitted comes ahead of a crunch meeting between Sir Keir and Mr Trump in the White House on Thursday, with British ministers desperate to avoid criticising the president for fear of being dragged into a trade war with the US.
The security minister stressed that Britain is doing “everything that we possibly can to put further pressure on Russia”, and that Sir Keir will be “discussing these matters with the president later this week”.
“These are things that are being discussed. But there is a very clear and united message going to Russia, which is that they need to end their illegal invasion of Ukraine,” Mr Jarvis added.
His comments, on the third anniversary of Putin’s full-scale invasion, came as foreign secretary David Lammy prepares to announce a fresh wave of sanctions against Russia, set to be the biggest since the early days of the conflict.
