Leaving Ukraine would threaten British, European and American security, and lead to "incomparably higher" costs in the long term, warned the head of the British security agency MI6, Richard Moore, in a speech that can be considered an appeal to Donald Trump to continue supporting Kiev, the Guardian reports. .
In a rare public appearance, Moore said he believed Vladimir Putin "wouldn't stop" at Ukraine if he were allowed to subdue it in any peace talks involving the new Republican administration in the US.
"If Putin is allowed to succeed in reducing Ukraine to a vassal state, he will not stop there. Our security - British, French, European and transatlantic - will be threatened," said Moore during a speech in Paris, together with his French counterpart.
The head of MI6 was this week mentioned as a potential surprise candidate for the post of UK ambassador to the US, although he is not understood to be actively seeking the position. The former Labor minister, Peter Mandelson, is considered the favorite for the key role at a sensitive time in transatlantic relations.
Moore has been at the helm of MI6 for four years, a position usually considered a five-year post by Richard Grenell, who was acting director of US national intelligence at the time.
Trump has complained about the cost of supporting Kiev and has repeatedly said he wants to end the war, claiming he could do so "in 24 hours." JD Vance, the incoming US Vice President, has proposed freezing the conflict on the current front lines and delaying Ukraine's NATO membership for an extended period.
"The costs of supporting Ukraine are well known. But the costs of doing nothing would be incomparably greater. If Putin succeeds, China will weigh the consequences, North Korea will be emboldened, and Iran will become even more dangerous," Moore said.
A key British argument to the incoming Trump administration is to link the war in Ukraine with American concerns about China's growing military power, stressing that the presence of North Korean troops brings authoritarianism from Asia into what was previously a purely European conflict.
In a speech marking the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, Moore emphasized the history of intelligence cooperation between the UK and France, but was careful to point out that he expected UK-US cooperation to remain unchanged regardless of political tensions.
"For decades, the US-UK intelligence alliance has been making our societies safer. I worked successfully with the first Trump administration to improve our joint security and I look forward to working together again," Moore told those present at the UK embassy, not far from the Elysée. palace, the official residence of the French president.
The MI6 chief's public presence in Paris reflects a wider political renewal of relations between the British prime minister and the French president. After Trump's victory, Keir Starmer met with Emmanuel Macron in France to discuss the situation in Ukraine, amid reports that Republicans want European soldiers to act as peacekeepers if a ceasefire is agreed.
Moore said Putin's aim was to "test the resolve of the West" and that Western intelligence agencies "recently uncovered a stunningly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe" – involving arson, assassinations and kidnappings, including a DHL warehouse fire in Birmingham caused by explosives hidden in a package sent by order of Russia.
Moscow has said that its demands regarding Ukraine remain unchanged. Earlier this month, the Kremlin said its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was a "direct result" of NATO policy aimed at "creating a foothold against Russia on Ukrainian soil."
Russia still demands the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, and in previous peace talks it insisted that the Ukrainian army be reduced to 50.000 soldiers. It also claims the territories of four Ukrainian provinces – Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporozhye and Lugansk – of which only Lugansk is fully occupied.
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