Sir Keir Starmer tonight said he has ‘no plans’ to speak to Vladimir Putin despite Germany‘s Olaf Scholz recently holding talks with the Russian leader.
The Prime Minister, speaking to reporters on his way to the G20 summit, added that shoring up support for Ukraine was ‘top of my agenda’ for the meeting in Brazil.
World leaders are gathering in Rio de Janeiro on Monday and Tuesday, which will coincide with the 1,000th day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Donald Trump‘s victory in the US election has sparked fresh uncertainty over continued American backing for Kyiv‘s fight against Mr Putin’s forces.
Earlier this week, Mr Scholz spoke to Mr Putin in what was the Russian president’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.
Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky criticised the call by saying it had opened a ‘Pandora’s box’, adding: ‘This is exactly what Putin has long wanted: It is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation.’
Sir Keir Starmer works on board a Government plane as he travels to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 summit
Donald Trump ‘s victory in the US election has sparked fresh uncertainty over continued American backing for Kyiv ‘s fight against Vladimir Putin’s forces
Earlier this week, Olaf Scholz spoke to Mr Putin in what was the Russian leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years
Asked for his view on Mr Scholz’s action, and if he intended to speak with Mr Putin himself, Sir Keir said: ‘It’s a matter for Chancellor Schloz who he speaks to, I have no plans to speak to Putin.
‘We are coming up to the 1,000th day of this conflict on Tuesday, that’s 1,000 days of Russian aggression, 1,000 days of huge impact and sacrifice in relation to Ukrainian people.
‘And recently we’ve seen the addition of North Korean troops working with the Russians, which does have serious implications.
‘I think, on the one hand, it shows the desperation of Russia but it’s got serious implications for European security, that added additional element and for Indo-Pacific security.
‘That’s why I think we need to double down on shoring up our support for Ukraine and that’s top of my agenda for the G20.
‘There’s got to be full support for as long as it takes and that certainly is top of my agenda, shoring up that further support for Ukraine.’
Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine on Sunday, with Mr Zelensky claiming that Russia had launched a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones.