Sir Keir Starmer’s national security adviser attempted to open back-channel communications with the Kremlin because of concerns European countries were being cut off from negotiations about the future of Ukraine.
Jonathan Powell made contact earlier this year with Yuri Ushakov, a foreign policy adviser to President Putin, when the Trump administration was trying to broker an end to the conflict. He did so to allow the UK to directly convey its position, and those of other European countries, after concerns grew that Washington was increasingly acting unilaterally.
However, the call between Powell and Ushakov was said to have ended badly and they have not spoken since.
“There was such contact,” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said on Wednesday. “The dialogue did not continue. During this contact, the interlocutor showed a strong desire to present the Europeans’ position, while there was no intention or willingness to listen to ours.”
The call, first reported by the Financial Times and confirmed by senior government officials, took place after Trump returned to the White House in January. It was not part of a co-ordinated western outreach but was backed by some European countries concerned about US actions.
Downing Street said it was normal for the UK to “regularly engage with the Russian government, including through our embassy in Moscow”, but declined to comment on the nature of the call. A government source said Powell had not spoken to Ushakov in recent months but confirmed that he had tried to create a back channel.
In February Trump admonished President Zelensky at the White House for not being prepared to make concessions to Russia in return for peace. He also threatened to cut off aid for Kyiv if Ukraine rejected any potential peace deal negotiated by Washington.
However, in recent months Trump has become increasingly frustrated by Putin’s refusal to compromise. He abruptly ended a summit in Alaska early after Putin stuck to his demands that Kyiv surrender territory held by Ukrainian forces.
Putin and Trump in Alaska
KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS
Last month Trump cancelled plans for a second summit in Hungary after Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, backtracked on commitments Trump thought that he had secured from Putin in a phone call. The US also imposed the toughest sanctions on Russian oil since the start of the war and Trump has talked openly about potentially resuming nuclear weapons testing for the first time in 30 years.