Prime Minister Andy Burnham has cautioned against reading “too much into” US-brokered Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi, insisting the focus must remain on securing a ceasefire rather than broader security arrangements. Speaking at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Dublin, he promised Volodymyr Zelensky Britain’s “complete support” in ending the war.
Focus on ceasefire, not security arrangements
Mr Burnham said it was “progress that talks are taking place” but added that it would be “premature to read too much into them”. He stressed that the priority should be “a ceasefire in Ukraine, rather than the issues Russia wants to put on the table around security arrangements in Europe”.
The Prime Minister also confirmed that Britain had imposed further sanctions on Russian oil companies, meaning all of the top 10 oil producers in Russia are now sanctioned by the UK. “We are continuing to take practical action to prevent Putin’s war machine being funded,” he said.
European representation in negotiations
Mr Burnham said UK national security adviser Jonathan Powell was planning to join the Ukrainian president’s meeting with Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Dublin. However, No 10 later said the meeting was delayed, meaning Mr Powell could no longer attend.
Asked whether Ukraine was in a weaker position due to a lack of European voices at the negotiating table, the Prime Minister said: “There are European voices in the room. Our national security adviser for one… So I don’t think I accept the premise of your question.” He added that leaders he had spoken to “are determined to put a bit of a ring of steel around Zelensky”.
New sanctions and EPC summit
Mr Burnham announced a fresh package of sanctions on Moscow, covering all 10 of Russia’s major oil producers. Downing Street said the measures included shadow fleet vessels illicitly transporting Russian oil, Russian oil company Slavneft, and Rosneft’s flagship Arctic oil and gas project LLC Vostok Oil.
At the start of the EPC Ukraine meeting, Mr Burnham said: “I’m sure I speak for everybody in saying you have our complete support, both in terms of resisting the aggression that you continue to face, but also in the negotiation process that has started.” He added that allies will try to support Ukraine “in every way possible through that process” and will “continue to press for European representation in that process”.
The Prime Minister arrived in Dublin on Thursday afternoon after flying in from Turkey, where he attended the UN Cop31 climate conference. He was meeting some European leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, for the first time face-to-face in the margins of the EPC, ahead of a UK-EU summit in Brussels next Friday.
