"The right and only response to that [Ukrainian conflict] is for Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine. And all plans masquerading as peace plans that are in fact attempts just to freeze the conflict where it is are absolutely wrong," Sunak said during a televised statement in the UK's Parliament.
Sunak was responding to former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who asked the prime minister to comment on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' calls for ceasefire negotiations, which were supported by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Pope Francis, and on Brazilian President Lula da Silva's statement that peace talks were necessary.
On Tuesday, Ramaphosa said that he spoke with the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky, on behalf of the African countries and introduced them to a peace initiative by Zambia, Senegal, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa.
Ramaphosa said that Putin and Zelensky both agreed to receive a mission of leaders of African nations with their peace initiative in Moscow and Kiev. Guterres and the African Union were informed of the initiative, he added.
Such a warmongering stance is not odd for London, as Sunak's predecessor Boris Johnson was one of the main supporters of Zelensky in Europe. Reports suggest that he urged the Ukrainian president to stop the peace talks with Russia during his surprise visit to Kiev last year.