According to CoinMeta, British Defence Secretary Ben Stirling has urged the UK to seek new channels of communication with Russia in order to avoid the "risk of misjudgment" caused by Moscow's "state-supported terrorism." In terms of maintaining political and diplomatic contact with the Putin government, the UK has fallen behind allies such as France and Germany. Stirling stated in a media interview, "We have an embassy in Moscow, which is an important channel... but I would prefer if there were other channels as well, especially at the military level." "The risk of misjudgment always exists, so it is crucial to establish direct lines of communication." Prior to this, German Foreign Minister Annalena Faerbach met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in September, marking the first such meeting between the two sides since the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict.