British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks to the press in Athens, Greece, 18 December 2025. Photo: EPA / George Vitsaras
Believing Moscow has yet to show genuine interest in ending the war in Ukraine, the UK has broken ranks with France and Italy, both of which are pushing for renewed European dialogue with Vladimir Putin to end the conflict, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told POLITICO on Thursday.
“I think what we need is evidence that Putin actually wants peace and at the moment, I’m still not seeing that,” Cooper said, adding that “so far, I don’t see the evidence that Putin is yet willing to come to the table, or yet willing to have discussions.”
Cooper noted that “the huge commitment to work being done by Ukraine” with the support of the US and Europe was not being matched by the Kremlin, and that, until it was, Europe should be ready to “put increased pressure, economic pressure, and also … military pressure on Russia as well”.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared a state of emergency in the country’s energy sector as ongoing Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities continued to leave thousands without power, heating and running water in freezing temperatures.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned in December that Europe should be ready to re-engage in negotiations with Russia should US-led peace talks — from which European countries have been sidelined — fail. In response, Putin “expressed readiness to engage in dialogue” with Macron, the Kremlin said.
Last week, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni echoed Macron’s remarks, saying she believed “the time has come for Europe to also speak with Russia,” adding that she feared that if Europe only spoke to one of the warring parties, “the contribution it can make will be limited,” and calling on the EU to appoint a European special envoy to Moscow.
While chief European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho conceded on Monday that Europe would eventually have to engage with Putin to secure peace in Ukraine, she added that the fact that the Russian leader had yet to speak directly with Zelensky meant that “we’re not there yet”.
“Peace in Ukraine depends on one single person. That person is, as you know very well, President Putin. So obviously, at some point, there will have to be talks also with President Putin. In the meantime, a lot of work is being done,” Pinho told reporters.
Despite failing to win the UK’s support for direct talks with Putin, France and Italy did manage to secure support for the appointment of a Russia envoy “in the European Commission and among a handful of other countries”, POLITICO reported on Wednesday.
