'The West has chosen dishonour in bowing to President Putin – and will be rewarded with more war.'- Ben Wallace
Ukraine’s betrayal proves we have entered an era of grave danger'Sir Ben, a former defence secretary, said that if Mr Trump was seen to capitulate to the Kremlin as world leaders gathered for the Munich Security Conference this weekend, it would be a repeat of Chamberlain’s “peace for our time” moment.'Ben Wallace: Trump’s Ukraine peace talks have echoes of Nazi appeasementDanielle Sheridan
February 13, 2025
SourceFormer defence secretary warns there could be repeat of Neville Chamberlain’s ‘peace for our time’ moment
Donald Trump’s talks with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine have echoes of Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of the Nazis in 1938, Sir Ben Wallace has said.
On Wednesday night, Mr Trump and Putin held a 90-minute phone call in which it was agreed that they would “immediately” begin peace negotiations.
The call has prompted concerns that whatever negotiations the two devise will be favourable to Moscow, with Ukraine and Europe frozen out of talks.
Sir Ben, a former defence secretary, said that if Mr Trump was seen to capitulate to the Kremlin as world leaders gathered for the Munich Security Conference this weekend, it would be a repeat of Chamberlain’s “peace for our time” moment.
Writing for The Telegraph, he said: “Munich’s motto is ‘peace through dialogue’, but it has proven itself in recent years to also be a forceful bastion of European resistance against Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“What a shame, then, that this year’s gathering seems set to mirror the disastrous conference of 1938 where the continent stood blind in the face of Hitler’s duplicity. The stench of appeasement is once again returning to Munich.
“After Chamberlain returned to Britain in 1938 having signed an agreement with Adolf Hitler, he proclaimed ‘peace for our time’. Winston Churchill then rebutted that ‘you were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour and you will have war’.
“The same fate awaits the West, whether in the Taiwan strait, Iran, or elsewhere in Europe, if it fails to stand strong now. And like 87 years ago, it will have its roots in Munich.”
It comes after Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, told Nato allies that they would have to stop relying on the US to provide security to the region.
Sir Ben also expressed concern that if Putin was appeased now, there was no guarantee to stop him launching further invasions of Ukraine in the future.
“The Trump administration, presuming itself to be the biggest donor (actually Europe is) feels it can dictate terms out of thin air, confident that nobody will stop it from fawning over Putin and his ‘security’ demands,” he wrote.
“With the question of Nato accession now firmly off the table, there is no guarantee that Putin will not return to wrest yet more territory from Ukraine.”
He warned that Putin was “not one for keeping his promises” and that a ceasefire was an opportunity for Moscow to “reload”.
Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, Rishi Sunak, the former prime minister, urged the Government and its European allies to provide Ukraine with “a military presence across land, air and sea” to give Ukraine “confidence that any peace will endure”.
Maria Eagle, the defence minister, replied: “I can confirm that we aim to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position to enable it to negotiate, and that involves continuing to supply them with the arms and weapons that they need in order to fight, because fighting is still going on in a very fierce manner in that country. So we need to step up and make sure we do that.”
Ms Eagle said that 58 per cent of the aid and support received by Ukraine last year was from European nations.
On Wednesday, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately.”
He denied that Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, would be frozen out of any peace talks.
Putin has previously outlined demands for the US military presence in Europe to be reduced and for Ukraine to accept that four annexed regions in the country are now part of Russia.
In response to Mr Trump’s phone call with Putin, John Healey, the Defence Secretary, insisted that Ukraine must be involved in any negotiations to end the war.
He told reporters: “There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine”, adding: “Ukrainians are fighting bravely. It’s our jobs, it’s our job as defence ministers here at Nato, to put them in the best position to secure a lasting peace through strength.”
Context'..if Russia wins .. we will face more wars, bigger wars..''Crimea is Ukraine. Donetsk is Ukraine. Kherson is Ukraine. Luhansk is Ukraine. Zaporizhzhia is Ukraine..''What are Ukraine's borders? .. they’re internationally recognized and defined in 1991.' - Navalny