On Wednesday afternoon, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed concern over Russia’s hostile activity on the Ukrainian border.
I spoke to President Putin this afternoon to express my deep concern about Russia’s hostile activity on the Ukrainian border.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 2, 2022
Any further incursion into Ukrainian territory would be a tragic miscalculation.
Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward. pic.twitter.com/zljO2y9Tj9
According to the press release by the British government, Johnson pushed for a solution that respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity and its right to self-defence. Johnson emphasised that any Russian incursion into Ukrainian territory could lead to tragic miscalculations.
Additionally, Johnson defended Ukraine’s interest to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), citing the Alliance’s open-door policy that endows European democracies with the right to aspire for NATO’s membership.
Furthermore, the statement mentioned that the two leaders agreed that “aggravation was in no one’s interest.” Also, Johnson stressed the need for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve outstanding issues and to include Ukraine in talks.
“The Prime Minister and President Putin welcomed communication between the UK and Russia on a number of important issues including climate change, the situation in Afghanistan and the Iran nuclear deal. They agreed to apply this spirit of dialogue to the current tensions in order to find a peaceful resolution,” the statement added.
☎️That phone call between Boris Johnson and Vladimir Putin has finally happened… pic.twitter.com/V0icvMCNGf
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) February 2, 2022
During the call, both sides also discussed the security guarantees sought by Moscow.
Meanwhile, in the press release by the Kremlin, Putin highlighted the security of the Russian Federation and drew attention to Kyiv’s “chronic sabotage of the Minsk agreements.” The Minsk agreement was meant to end the war in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
“NATO’s unwillingness to adequately respond to well-founded Russian concerns was noted, while hiding behind references to the so-called open-door policy of the alliance, which contradicts the fundamental principle of the indivisibility of security,” the press release stated.
Johnson visited Kyiv on Tuesday. Following talks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Johnson warned of the “clear and present” danger to Ukraine amid Russia’s military build-up on the border.
While speaking to British lawmakers before the call with Putin, Johnson underscored the dangerous situation at the Ukrainian border. He said, “the job of the UK is to lead the west in bringing together the most important countries in creating a package of economic sanctions that will deter President Putin from what I believe would be a disastrous miscalculation, and also to strengthen our support for the Ukrainian people and, indeed, the Ukrainian army.”
Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops along the Ukrainian border, which has the West worried. The West has accused Moscow of preparing another invasion of the Ukrainian peninsula. To deter Russia from invading Ukraine, Western nations have threatened the former with punitive sanctions, supplied Ukraine with military equipment, and increased their military presence in Eastern Europe.
However, Russia has denied any plans to invade Ukraine. Instead, Moscow has said that it is seeking legal guarantees to restrict the eastward expansion of NATO and Ukraine’s membership in the defence alliance.