British Foreign Secretary David Cameron reportedly discussed with former President Trump – the presumptive Republican presidential nominee – a potential peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
According to a source who spoke to The Sunday Times, Cameron met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida last month and told the former president that new U.S. aid would help Ukraine hold its front lines and give Trump the ‘best possible conditions’ to attempt to secure an agreement with Russia.
The source reportedly said that Cameron asked Trump: ‘What are the best conditions in which you as president can make a deal in January? It’s both sides holding their lines and paying a price for that.’
That contradicts the United Kingdom’s position that a peace agreement would be a Ukrainian matter, and Cameron has said publicly that ‘peace comes through strength, not through appeasement and weakness.’
Asked about the report Monday afternoon, a spokesperson for U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain’s ‘position has not changed’ and that ‘Putin must fail.’
‘It is crucial, now more than ever in this conflict, that Putin is sent a very clear message that we will support Ukraine for as long as is necessary,’ the spokesperson said. ‘I’ve seen some anonymous source briefing. We do not recognize those reports.’
Reporters also pressed Sunak about the report in central London on Monday.
‘I haven’t seen this Sunday Times article, so forgive me for that,’ Sunak said, according to Politico. ‘But what I can tell you is that you we have led when it comes to Ukraine.’
‘Investment in Ukraine’s security is investment in our security. Our NATO allies are already worried about the prospect of if Putin succeeds, that they’ll be next – with all the consequences that would bring,’ he added.
Cameron said last month the meeting ‘was entirely in line with precedent with government ministers meeting with opposition politicians,’ adding that he and Trump discussed a ‘range of important geopolitical subjects’ and that a victory for Ukraine is ‘vital for American and European security.’
In a statement in April, Trump’s campaign said the meeting was held ‘to discuss several issues impacting both countries,’ including upcoming elections in both Britain and the United States, the implications of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, the need for NATO allies to meet their commitments on defense spending and ‘ending the killing in Ukraine.’
The Associated Press contributed to this report.