The West must not be intimidated by Vladimir Putin, says the head of the British armed forces, ahead a crucial meeting between the Russian leader and US President Donald Trump.
Mr Trump says he believes Putin is ready to make a deal to end Russia’s war with Ukraine when the two leaders meet in Anchorage in Alaska on Friday.
It is set to be followed by a second meeting involving Volodymyr Zelensky, which could also be attended by European leaders, Mr Trump suggested on Thursday night.
But writing for The Telegraph, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin warned Nato allies against submitting to Moscow’s demands, and said: “Putin doesn’t want a war with Nato because he would lose. So we should not be cowed by his rhetoric or his campaign of sabotage, outrageous as it may be.”
During a press conference on Thursday at the White House, Mr Trump said that Putin is “not going to mess around with me”, and said he believed that both the Russian leader and Volodymyr Zelensky would reach a peace deal.
Speaking in the Oval Office, he said: “I want to set the table for the next meeting. I’d like to see it happen very quickly.
“We’re going to find out where everyone stands. If it’s a bad meeting, it will end very quickly, and if it’s a good meeting, we will end up having peace in the very near future.”
He also floated the idea that European leaders could be invited to the second meeting, and reiterated that he would know “in the first two minutes” if a deal could be achieved.
Ukrainian president Zelensky and his European counterparts, such as Sir Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron, have been sidelined from Friday’s summit.
Writing to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, Sir Tony said that Nato allies must be “assertive in every domain – nuclear, land, sea, air, cyber and space – as well as in the diplomatic and economic arenas”.
He added: “The one weapon that is most needed in our arsenal is confidence. Despite the global instability, Britain is secure at home. Nato is strong. Russia is weak. It is not complacent to point this out.”
In a separate statement, Mr Zelensky said there had been discussions about the security guarantees required to make any deal “truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killing”.
But concerns linger over the prospect of Kyiv being excluded from negotiations over its own future, and pressured to cede territory, after Mr Trump suggested any agreement may need to involve “swapping of land”.
Ukraine has already rejected any proposal that would compromise its borders.
On Thursday, Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky met at Downing Street, where they said there was “strong resolve” for peace in Ukraine.
The two leaders embraced as the red carpet was rolled out for Mr Zelensky’s arrival in Downing Street, and they later had breakfast.
They expressed cautious optimism about the prospect of a truce “as long as Putin takes action to prove he is serious” about ending the war, a Downing Street statement said.
