UK and Russia need new backchannel to avoid 'miscalculation', says Streeting

British defence secretary also urges Brussels not to allow 'Made in Europe' policies to undermine Nato

Britain and Russia should seek fresh lines of communication to avert the "risk of miscalculation" arising from Moscow's "state-sponsored terrorism", the UK defence secretary Wes Streeting has urged.

The UK has fallen behind allies such as France and Germany in its political and diplomatic lines of contact with Vladimir Putin's regime.

"We have our embassy in Moscow. That is an important channel . . . I would much prefer there to be additional channels too, particularly military-to-military level," Streeting told the FT.

"There is always a risk of miscalculation and that's why having that direct communication is important."

The intervention comes after Germany's foreign minister Johann Wadephul met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in September -- the first meeting at that level since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

That followed Berlin accusing Russian intelligence of an attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport.

French President Emmanuel Macron sent his diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne to meet senior officials at the Kremlin in February, having himself spoken to Putin in July 2025 for the first time in three years.

The Trump administration has gone further, with sustained high-level contact with Russia. Trilateral peace talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine are due to take place in Abu Dhabi from Tuesday.

UK officials stressed that London had tried to restore backchannels with senior defence officials in Moscow but had so far been rebuffed.

"Right now, it feels that miscalculation is a greater risk than a deliberate move to escalate," said one government figure.

No conversations between a serving UK chief of defence staff or British defence secretary and their respective Russian counterparts have taken place since 2022.

The head of the UK's secret intelligence service MI6 very occasionally spoke with her Russian counterpart but it was a rare occurrence and fell short of adequate lines into Moscow's military intelligence system, one person familiar with the matter said.

The UK has increasingly replaced the US as the Kremlin's chief western bogeyman, partly due to its leading role in Nato in supporting Ukraine.

In March, Alexander Bortnikov, the chief of the FSB, Russia's domestic spy service, described Britain as the "puppet master of Ukraine's secret services".

This summer a Russian warship fired warning shots at a British yacht in the Channel, and a Russian warplane was accused of flying dangerously close to the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.

Russia has also been implicated in arson attacks, meddling with subsea cables and cyber attacks.

Emphasising the threat posed by Russia, Streeting said: "We have seen over the course of this year numerous examples of what some people call hybrid threats, and I prefer to call state-sponsored terrorism."

A former UK national security figure said that "part of Russia's shtick is to say the UK is unimportant and does not warrant engagement, so setting up and managing these channels is part of the mind judo of Anglo-Russian relations".

Streeting also warned that the EU's Made in Europe rules, intended to boost the bloc's manufacturers, could make Nato "collectively weaker" by undermining economic co-operation.

He urged the bloc not to use Made in Europe to curb British companies' participation in its weapons purchases, a message he made to Kaja Kallas, the EU's chief diplomat, and Andrius Kubilius, the EU's commissioner for defence, in meetings last week.

"We've got to hold true to the strength of our alliance through the economic lens as well as the military lens," Streeting said, also highlighting the impact of "America First" protectionism.

The defence secretary was speaking ahead of the Atlantic Future Forum conference in Oslo on the HMS Prince of Wales, where a topic will be the lessons of the Ukraine war for Europe.

Asked whether recent issues with Starlink held lessons about the need for sovereign capabilities, Streeting agreed, adding: "Sovereignty, but also control, I think, is one of the most important things . . . especially where we are in terms of AI technology."

The US administration has been accused of deliberately limiting Ukraine's access to the SpaceX-operated Starlink satellite constellation, hindering Kyiv's military operations. Trump and SpaceX's chief executive Elon Musk have denied responsibility.

Streeting also left open the door to Britain providing more military support to Saudi Arabia in its fight against the Houthis.

Last month the UK deployed RAF Typhoon fighter jets and a heavy-lift transport aircraft to assist Riyadh, as well as British military advisers, following Saudi requests.

"It's really important that the UK is seen by our friends and allies as a partner that shows up when help is needed . . . We'll continue to work closely with our friends in Saudi to understand their needs and requirements," he said.

Streeting added, however, that "what we don't want to do is get dragged into the war", and stressed that a "diplomatic resolution" rather than a "military route" was the only way to end the conflict.