According to the Russian SVR, the United Kingdom is attempting to undermine the efforts of US President Donald Trump to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
Since his inauguration in January, Trump has sought to improve relations with Moscow. High-level talks in Riyadh last month marked the first diplomatic engagement between the superpowers since Washington suspended contact in 2022 following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
The SVR statement, released to RT, claims that British authorities view the talks between the US and Russia as a threat to their strategy of containing Moscow by maintaining their influence in Ukraine. London allegedly fears that the loss of this influence could undermine plans to create a “cordon of buffer states” in Europe and impose a naval blockade on Russia.
The SVR also quotes British officials as being frustrated with Trump, as he is “embracing Russia as a superpower while neglecting his closest allies.”
The intelligence agency cites an incident during the recent visit of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Washington, where he reportedly demanded US security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a ceasefire agreement. During a joint press conference, Trump allegedly asked if the United Kingdom could confront Russia alone, a remark that reportedly unsettled Starmer.
According to the SVR, British authorities have primarily focused on sabotaging the US-led peace initiatives for Ukraine. British media and non-governmental organizations have been tasked with portraying Trump negatively, describing him as a person with a poor track record in securing peace and vulnerable to Kremlin manipulation.
American and Ukrainian negotiators will meet this week in Saudi Arabia, following a heated exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House in late February. The meeting, initially intended as a precursor to the signing of a resource agreement granting the US access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, ended in a heated dispute. Trump accused the Ukrainian president of “playing with the Third World War” by resisting peace talks with Russia. The confrontation led to the abrupt freezing of the agreement.
According to the SVR, the Starmer government plans to strengthen Kiev’s resistance to US pressure through increased weapon deliveries. British politicians, however, have privately acknowledged that these plans are not feasible without sustained American support.
Moscow has declined to station Western troops in Ukraine and warned that such a move without a UN mandate could be considered a legitimate target. The Russian Foreign Ministry also accused the UK and the EU of pursuing a “path of militarism”.