British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on January 25 announced his readiness to have a new conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He noted that the topic of the conversation will be the situation around Ukraine.
In recent weeks, Western politicians and members of the media have been spreading numerous speculations about a possible Russian “invasion” of Ukraine. The Russian side has repeatedly denied such statements. Moscow emphasized that it was not hatching plans for an “invasion” of Ukraine, and that all measures for the combat training of troops were carried out within Russian territory.
The official representative of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, noted on the eve that there are a lot of rumors and unreliable data that are “information hysteria” about the situation in Ukraine and the allegedly planned attack by Russia. He stressed that the actions of Washington and NATO lead to an escalation of tension in Ukraine.
“The goal of Russia is not to allow NATO to approach its borders. If so, it’s hard to imagine anything more counterproductive than an invasion of Ukraine. My esteemed friends, the British Foreign Secretary and the British Secretary of Defense, have already conveyed this message to President Putin, and I am, of course, ready to talk with him again,” Johnson said.
The prime minister expressed confidence that “all Russia’s fears can be eliminated” and the parties can “find a path to common security through calm diplomacy with firm principles.”
However, Johnson stressed, this will be possible only if Ukraine is not attacked.
According to him, the UK is trying to combine “diplomacy and deterrence”, pursuing its policy towards Moscow, but “will not hesitate to impose tougher sanctions against the Russian Federation” if the allegedly impending invasion of Ukraine takes place.
On January 13, Johnson held a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the president, they exchanged views “on possible steps to de-escalate.”
On December 13, 2021, Johnson spoke with the Russian leader. During the conversation, the politicians discussed the situation in Ukraine. Like other Western leaders, Johnson expressed concern about the alleged large-scale movement of Russian troops near the Ukrainian borders. Kiev is deliberately aggravating the situation on the line of contact in Donbass, Putin noted, and is also using weapons and drones prohibited by the Minsk agreements in the region.
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