UK and Russia ‘to hold first defence talks since 2013’ amid Ukraine crisis
The UK’s defence chief looks set for crunch talks with his Russian counterpart as war in Ukraine looms.
Ben Wallace is expected to fly to Moscow to meet Sergei Shoigu amid a desperate scramble to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Both men have publicly offered to speak in recent days and the Press Association reports that a face-to-face meeting will now go ahead.
It will mark the first bilateral defence talks between London and Moscow since 2013.
The development comes a day after US secretary of state Anthony Blinken met with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva.
While the talks did not produce a breakthrough, they ended cordially and with a commitment from the US to respond formally to Kremlin demands on Nato expansion next week.
The Americans even raised the prospect of president Biden meeting with president Putin, keeping hopes alive negotiations could deescalate tensions.
On the UK-Russia talks, a senior defence source told PA: ‘The defence secretary is glad that Russia has accepted the invitation to talk with his counterpart.
‘Given the last defence bilateral between our two countries took place in London in 2013, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has offered to meet in Moscow instead.
‘The secretary of state has been clear that he will explore all avenues to achieve stability and a resolution to the Ukraine crisis. We are in communication with the Russian government.’
Downing Street warned Russia this week that it would be ‘punished’ if the country pushes ahead with any ‘destabilising action’ in Ukraine.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss warned the Russian president he must ‘desist and step back’ from war in Ukraine or risk being dragged into a prolonged conflict like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Speaking at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, she said: ‘If there is an incursion by Russia into Ukraine, it would come at a massive cost.
‘We are prepared to put very severe sanctions in place, we are also working to support Ukraine in terms of defensive capability.’
The UK has provided the Ukrainian military with anti-tank missiles and sent experts to train soldiers on how to use them, a move which has angered Moscow.
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, has said he believes a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be ‘imminent’.
He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: ‘Putin is taking full advantage of a weakened West. We are looking risk-averse, somewhat timid.
‘Putin’s ultimatum demanding Nato push back, of course that was dismissed but that’s given him the pretext to say that there is an aggressor and that he must act.
‘We see these combat-ready troop formations. He has actually boxed himself into a corner because so much effort has been put into this.
‘He also recognises that he will never again be as strong as this to take advantage of the West’s weakness. I suspect that an invasion is now imminent.’
What is going on with Russia and Ukraine?
Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin has been concerned about the West’s military expansion into what it sees as Russia’s backyard.
Nato, the US-dominated military alliance which the UK and the majority of European nations are members of, has expanded over the last two decades to cover eastern European and Baltic states.
Ukraine is recognised as an ‘aspiring member’ and has been growing institutionally closer to the West ever since the 2013 Euromaidan demonstrations led to the pro-Russian government being toppled by protesters who favour deeper ties with Europe.
President Vladimir Putin regards Ukraine - which was part of the Soviet Union until 1991 - as a ‘red line’ and has called on the US and Nato to provide guarantees that it won’t become a member, something the West won’t do.
Russia wants to see Nato returned to something closer to its pre-1997 formation before eastern countries on its border joined, as well as the removal of military capabilities from places like Poland and Romania.
The situation between Russia and Ukraine is complicated by the historical and cultural ties between the two countries. Russian is widely spoken in Ukraine and the country is divided between people who feel more European and those who feel more Russian, especially in the country’s eastern areas.
President Putin regards Ukraine as part of ‘greater Russia’ and has written and spoken in the past about reuniting the Russian and Ukrainian people.
In 2014, Russia responded to the fall of the pro-Russian government in Kyiv by annexing Crimea. The peninsula to the south of Ukraine is still recognised as part of the country by the United Nations. Pro-Russian sepratist militants seized control of other areas in the country’s east. Ukraine estimates 7% of its territory is illegally occupied by Russia.
Armed conflict has rumbled on in parts of Ukraine ever since but a larger invasion appears to be closer now than ever before after Russia amassed huge military resources close to the border.
President Putin insists Russia is not planning to invade and it remains unclear whether the troop movement is a prelude to war or whether the Kremlin is using it to force guarantees on Nato expansion from the West.
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