Bow Group research fellow Joseph Robertson told GB News has that negotiating is the only solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Speaking to the broadcaster, Joseph Robertson said: “I think that peace is the only option. [Margaret] Thatcher spoke to [Mikhail] Gorbachev for a reason. Not because she liked him, but because strong leaders have to negotiate.”

Host Colin Brazier suggested that unlike for Mr Gorbachev, there was a “feeling” that Vladimir Putin is not a rational actor, prompting Mr Robertson to respond: “Well, there’s a ‘feeling’ but we don’t have time for feelings. We’ve got to really cut beyond that and look at the realistic rhetoric.

“When you escalate in terms of power, it always leads to conflict. When you de-escalate a situation, hopefully, there will be a peaceful solution, even if that means minor or major compromise.

“I simply think to say on the one hand, we care about the lives of civilians in Ukraine, but on the other to continue with this bellicose rhetoric without trying to offer solutions is simply not the way forward.”

The director of the Orthodox Conservatives group continued: “I think there is a precedent for this. I think we can use Cyprus as an example of where an agreement has been reached and peace has been kept, for many years now. It’s now turned into a tourist destination.

“Brokering a Minsk III-style agreement, where both sides can actually honour the mandates and there would be a level of constitutional obligation on the regions being discussed territorially, then I think that could lead to a peaceful solution. I think that’s what the West should be focusing on.”

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