Lord Mandelson: Ukraine should declare ceasefire first 

British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson speaking in February. Credit: PA

There has been a revealing interview this morning on ABC in the US by Lord Mandelson, UK ambassador in Washington - in which he calls on Ukraine and all European leaders to give “unequivocal backing to the initiative President Trump is taking” to broker a peace between Ukraine and Russia.

This from Mandelson stood out: “Ukraine should be first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow”.

Mandelson also calls on European governments, led by the UK and France, to make a major commitment of their forces to Ukraine’s land, airspace and sea, as a deterrent to Putin making future incursions, with - he hopes - the US providing the “ultimate” backstop if all were to go to hell (the backstop being American intelligence, air cover and access to its long range missile tech, I understand).

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The close ally of Keir Starmer also urges President Zelenskyy to sign the Trump “commercial” deal assigning mineral and energy rights to the US, to give “the US a stake in Ukraine’s future”.

All of this would be a bitter pill for Zelenskyy to swallow, after he was humiliated in the White House by Trump and Vance.

But maybe that is the mark of true courageous leadership.

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