In a documentary by the bbc, Boris Johnson was quick to tell an anecdote about Vladimir Putin. The former British Prime Minister claims that the Russian president “sort of threatened” him before the invasion of Ukraine by throwing at him: “A missile would take a minute”.
In the documentary, in which Volodymyr Zelensky also intervenes, the former head of the British government recounts his “very long” and “extraordinary” call with the Russian president after his visit to kyiv at the beginning of last February.
At that time, Vladimir Putin continued to maintain that he had no intention of invading his Ukrainian neighbor, despite the massive influx of Russian soldiers into the border regions.
The Kremlin denies the threats
Boris Johnson, he says that he had warned the Russian president of the harsh sanctions that Westerners would take if he embarked on this path. ” He said : Boris, you say Ukraine is not going to join NATO anytime soon. (…) What do you mean by not soon? “says Boris Johnson.
“I think that from the very relaxed tone he took, the detachment he seemed to have, he was playing with my attempts to get him to negotiate,” adds the former British leader, who left Downing Street in early September after a succession of scandals.
The Kremlin reacted Monday morning by accusing Boris Johnson of “lying”. “It’s either a deliberate lie, but then for what purpose?” Either it is an unintentional lie, insofar as he did not understand what President Putin was telling him,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the press, assuring that there was no had “no missile threat”.