ISTANBUL

The Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday media reports about a failed contact between UK National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.

“Indeed, there was contact, contact took place, that's true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, without providing an exact date of the conversation.

Peskov argued that there was a “lack of intention or desire” on the part of the British side to listen to Russia’s position, and that Powell was “keen” to share the European position, due to which the dialogue did not continue.

“Naturally, given the impossibility of a mutual exchange of opinions, the dialogue never developed,” Peskov added.

The remarks were made hours after the Financial Times reported that Powell tried to open a back channel with Moscow by holding a call with Ushakov earlier this year, citing three sources briefed on the matter.

The report said the conversation failed to yield results, citing one of the sources who indicated that it “did not go well.”

Powell’s approach was seen as a way to ensure that London and other European countries’ positions on the Ukraine war are correctly communicated to the Russian side, according to the report.

It added that the call took place amid fears about US President Donald Trump’s “inconsistent approach to supporting Ukraine” and concerns that Washington’s interests under the Trump administration are diverging from those of European countries.

Despite mediation from Trump, peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the more than three-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine war have largely stalled, with both accusing each other of the delay in negotiations.​​​​​​​