On Wednesday, a telephone conversation took place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. During the conversation, they exchanged their concerns about the situation around Ukraine.

Sabotage and inadequacy

“A fairly detailed exchange of views was held in the context of the intra-Ukrainian crisis and the situation to ensure long-term legally fixed guarantees of the security of the Russian Federation. The President of Russia outlined the fundamental approaches to these issues, ”the Kremlin’s website reports.

In particular, Putin drew the attention of his British counterpart to "Kiev's chronic sabotage of the Minsk agreements." He also noted "NATO's unwillingness to adequately respond to legitimate Russian concerns", hiding behind "references to the so-called open door policy of the alliance, which contradicts the fundamental principle of the indivisibility of security."

According to Reuters, in turn, Boris Johnson warned the Russian leader that the invasion of Ukraine would be a "tragic miscalculation."

“The Prime Minister expressed deep concern about the current hostile Russian activities on the Ukrainian border. He stressed the need to find a way forward that would respect both Ukraine's territorial integrity and the right to self-defence. The Prime Minister stressed that any further Russian intrusion into Ukraine would be a tragic miscalculation.

At the same time, both interlocutors agreed that the aggravation of the situation is not in anyone's interests. Johnson also stressed that, under NATO's open door policy, all European democracies have the right to seek membership in the alliance. And this fully applies to Ukraine. According to the British Prime Minister, NATO is a defensive alliance.

Politicians have 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 solution," the British Prime Minister's Office concluded.

Johnson's party

Putin and Johnson were supposed to have a telephone conversation on Monday, January 31st. But it has been rescheduled several times. Information appeared in the media that the British side asked to postpone the conversation between the two leaders after the publication of a report on the parties that were held with the participation of the British prime minister at the government residence on Downing Street during the lockdown. Johnson, commenting on these reports in the press, said that he would talk with the Russian president "as soon as he could," the likely date was February 1.

"Shadow" British Labor Foreign Secretary David Lammy was outraged by the postponement of the telephone conversation.

“The situation in Ukraine is very serious. We want diplomacy to win. But this crisis needs a focused prime minister, not someone so caught up in defending what cannot be justified that he missed a vital diplomatic call with Putin,” Lammy tweeted.

He is also convinced that "in the midst of a dangerous crisis that threatens peace in Europe, the Prime Minister has missed a vital diplomatic opportunity in an attempt to clean up the mess he has created in his homeland."

However, during a conversation with reporters on Tuesday, Johnson said that the conversation would take place even later. “I will talk to President Putin tomorrow,” he said.

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Military support

Earlier, Johnson announced the strengthening of the presence of the British military among NATO forces due to the situation around Ukraine. He decided to increase the contingent in Estonia from 900 to 1800 soldiers, and also to send weapons to this country. In addition, the Prime Minister expressed his readiness to provide military support to other allies in the North Atlantic Alliance.

However, he wants to improve relations with Moscow, so he decided to send the heads of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defense of the kingdom to Russia. They were instructed to achieve a de-escalation of the situation on the border with Ukraine.

“This package (of NATO support) will send a clear message to the Kremlin: we will not tolerate its destabilizing activities and will always be with NATO allies in the face of Russian hostilities… If President Putin chooses the path of bloodshed and destruction, it will be a tragedy for Europe. Ukraine must be free to determine its future,” Johnson quoted The Telegraph as saying.

According to him, London is considering sending planes, ships and military specialists to NATO countries. British soldiers were ordered to prepare to be sent to Europe. And the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales will be ready to depart "in a matter of hours" if tensions rise.

bbabo.Net