Zack Polanski mocked for saying he’d ‘build a relationship’ with Putin | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Zack Polanski has sparked backlash by saying he would search to construct a relationship with Vladimir Putin if the Green Party took energy. He insisted it was essential to “keep pushing for negotiation” with the Russian president regardless of his ongoing unlawful invasion of Ukraine. Mr Polanski instructed Matt Forde’s Political Party podcast: “I think it’s important that all politicians keep pushing for negotiation and keep pushing for diplomacy.

“If you are not going to barter with somebody, you then’re accepting that you’ll conflict with them sooner or later. And I do not suppose anybody is looking for a conflict with Russia or a conflict with Iran.” When pressed on whether he thought the Russian dictator could be trusted to abide by theoretical agreements, Mr Polanski added: “I do not belief him for a second and I would not belief him both in a negotiation. But on the identical time, you have to construct that relationship, and a part of that’s by change.”

One person wrote on X: “You have to be completely naive when you suppose Putin might be trusted.”

Another mocked the idea of Mr Polanski “merely putting up a relationship” with the dictator and “changing into associates earlier than convincing him to disarm”.

A third added: “Zack lives in la la land.”

The insurgent left-wing leader, whose party has soared in the opinion polls since he took the helm last year, has also suggested he would take Britain out of the NATO alliance, citing the growing unreliability of the US.

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He told the podcast: “Our core values [are] to guard folks and to guard the planet … I feel lots of what I’m saying is fundamental frequent sense.”

Momentum across the Green Party is constant to construct forward of the May native elections, boosted by a win on the Gorton and Denton by-election in February, when the Greens bested Labour and Reform to scoop the historically secure Greater Manchester seat.