UK Ambassador criticized after Ukraine-Russia ceasefire comments

Sky News and The Guardian reported the information.

Ambassador Peter Mandelson also urged Zelenskyy to sign a minerals agreement with the U.S. that was not signed after a dispute in the Oval Office.

“We need a very radical reset. The reset has to consist of the US and Ukraine getting back on the same page. And President Zelenskyy giving his unequivocal backing to the initiative that President Trump is taking to end the war and to bring a just and lasting peace to Ukraine,” he said.

“And the Europeans too need to back the calls for a ceasefire. And by the way, I think that Ukraine should be the first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow,” the ambassador stated.

This provoked a backlash in the UK. James Cleverly, the Conservative former foreign secretary, stated: “The UK ambassador to Washington isn’t meant to communicate his own opinion, he is meant to communicate the UK government opinion.”

When shadow Foreign Secretary Wendy Morton was asked what she thought of his comments, she replied that she was "a bit surprised" when she first heard them.

She then added that "offhand comments" should not be made publicly.

"But I do find it quite strange that the ambassador goes out and makes such statements. Perhaps Mr. Mandelson should think about it a bit," she said.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey also expressed surprise at Mandelson's comments.

“Our man in DC should be securing US protection for our brave Ukrainian allies, not telling President Zelenskyy what to do,” he said.

This morning, in an interview with Sky News, when asked whether Mandelson's comments reflect government policy, Junior Minister for Defence Luke Pollard replied: "No, this is not the government’s policy."

Mandelson himself believes his comments were wrongly interpreted. The ambassador “was reflecting government policies to an American audience, and any suggestion otherwise is hair-splitting nonsense”, a Washington embassy insider told Politico.