London, United Kingdom – David Owen often describes the war in Ukraine as Russia’s “second invasion”, as a constant reminder of the 2014 Crimean conflict.
A former British foreign secretary in the late 1970s, an MP for 26 years under Labour, an ex-member of the House of Lords and a European Union peace negotiator in the former Yugoslavia, Owen updated his latest book – Riddle, Mystery, and Enigma: Two Hundred Years of British-Russian Relations, published October 2021 – after Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
media spoke to Owen, 86, about Russia and Ukraine, Moscow’s terminal relationship with the UK and why he thinks the United States presidential election in November will determine what comes next.
media: After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, you signed a letter published in the Financial Times that called for a new NATO treaty with Russia that “engenders no institutional hostility”. Almost 1,000 days into the war, NATO is ever closer to Russia and President Vladimir Putin is warning of direct conflict with the military alliance. Do you stand by the letter now?
David Owen: Well, I think relations have got seriously worse, and I regret that.
I don’t myself think it will be possible to move back into a productive sort of dialogue that we had in the [former Russian President Boris] Yeltsin years until the issue of the Ukraine war is over. Now, that may be on the horizon. I think it does depend a lot on who wins the presidential election in the United States. But if [Republican candidate and former US President Donald] Trump was to come back, there’s very little doubt he would, as he has frequently said, try to settle the Ukraine war and improve relations, personal relations with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.
media: Ukraine wants to use Western-made long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia. Should the US grant Ukraine’s wish?
Owen: We are in the hands of [US] President [Joe] Biden. He is still in charge of American policy and has strong feelings on it. It is clear that Biden is extremely reluctant in the present circumstances of NATO’s involvement with Ukraine to increase the tension.
media: At what point was it clear to you that UK-Russia relations had reached the lowest level since the Cold War?
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