The Prime Minister Boris Johnson Portrait
May 10, 2022- 9:27 a.m.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Urges Ukraine Not to Negotiate With Russia
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and said that he urged Ukraine against negotiating with Russia.
According to a readout of the call from Johnson’s office, the British leader updated Macron on his April 9 visit to Kyiv.
“The Prime Minister updated on his visit to Kyiv last month and shared his conviction that Ukraine would win, supported with the right level of defensive military assistance,” the readout said.
The readout said Johnson “urged against any negotiations with Russia on terms that gave credence to the Kremlin’s false narrative for the invasion but stressed that this was a decision for the Ukrainian government.”
According to a report from Ukrainska Pravda citing sources close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Johnson told the Ukrainian leader during his Kyiv visit that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be pressured, not negotiated with.
The report said that Johnson told Zelensky that “even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin,” Kyiv’s Western backers are not ready.
Johnson’s position is that of the “collective West,” which now feels Putin is not as strong as they initially thought and see the war as an opportunity to “press him.”
