Putin Says UK's Johnson Could Not Have Travelled to Ukraine in 2022 Without Consulting US
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson could not have traveled to Ukraine in 2022 without consulting with Washington when he asked Kiev not to negotiate with Moscow, his trip was at the expense of the US administration, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"Former Prime Minister Mr. Johnson could not have traveled [to Ukraine] on his own personal initiative without consulting Washington on the matter. Probably, not only were there such consultations, but I think he simply went on the business trip at the expense of the US administration. They paid him travel expenses for this," Putin said in an interview with Rossiya 1 reporter Pavel Zarubin.
In November 2023, David Arakhamia, the head of Ukraine's ruling Servant of the People party's faction in parliament and the former chief negotiator with Russia, said former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked Kiev out of signing an agreement with Moscow to end the conflict in the spring of 2022. He also said Ukraine rejected the ceasefire deal due to its contradicting the constitution's clause on the country's Euro-Atlantic aspiration.
Russia and Ukraine held a few rounds of talks in the early phase of the conflict, but the negotiation eventually stalled.
Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Western countries responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Moscow while also ramping up its military support for Kiev.
