Russian President Vladimir Putin is “prevaricating” and “obfuscating” in peace talks with Ukraine, David Lammy has said.
The Foreign Secretary was responding to Tory MP James Cleverly, a former foreign secretary, who asked Mr Lammy if US President Donald Trump is “committed to defending territorial integrity”.
The Kremlin has effectively rejected an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in the more than three-year war, but reiterated it would take part in possible peace talks in Turkey later this week without preconditions.
Mr Trump said he is optimistic about the Istanbul talks aimed at stopping the fighting, which has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, as well as more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians.
Over the weekend, Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Kyiv alongside his French, German and Polish counterparts for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and on Monday Mr Lammy hosted counterparts from France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Poland where they discussed the future of the region.
During Foreign Office questions in the Commons, Mr Cleverly told MPs: “The sustainable success of Ukraine and its self-defence hinges very much on the appetite of the president of the United States of America.
“So, what steps is the Foreign Secretary, his ministers and officials taking to ensure that the president of the United States of America stays committed to defending territorial integrity, not just of his own nation, but of all nations?
“And will he ensure the White House understands that allowing an aggressor to prosper in this case will encourage other aggressors to invade their neighbours in the future?”
Mr Lammy replied: “(Mr Cleverly) will have seen that the Prime Minister was with President Zelensky and other European partners, he will have noted that they engaged with President Trump.
“We welcome the desire to get an enduring peace but there must be a ceasefire in order to engage in those talks, it seems to me.
“And it is Putin that is prevaricating, it is Putin that is obfuscating, and we must call that out with our long experience of scrutinising that particular individual.”
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller said Mr Trump “continues to indulge in the fantasy that Putin is serious about peace” and called on the Government to “maintain clear leadership in the face of Trump’s unreliability”.
Mr Miller then asked the Foreign Secretary what discussions he had had with Belgium and Germany on the seizure of Russian frozen assets.
Mr Lammy replied: “I have had detailed talks with my Belgian counterparts, not just at my foreign minister level, but technical talks that have involved our officials.
“I know that (Mr Miller) understands multilateralism. He will recognise that the new German government has only been in power for a matter of days.
“I was able to discuss this issue yesterday with my German counterpart, but with all grace I am allowing him to spend some time getting into the detail of the issue.”
