Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he did not persuade Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to continue the war during his visit to Kyiv in 2022. Such statements have been repeatedly made by Russia.
Johnson said this on the School of War podcast.
According to Johnson, Ukraineʼs decision to continue resisting the Russians was not the result of pressure from Great Britain or other Western powers: the Ukrainians themselves "wanted to resist, wanted to fight and defend their country", and no foreign leader could force them to give it up.
Johnson called Russiaʼs claims that his April visit to Kyiv was the reason for the breakdown of negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation "absolute nonsense".
"There was no European or Western leader who could theoretically stop Ukrainians from fighting for their country. The only thing I wanted to say to him (Volodymyr Zelensky) was: ʼIf you want to keep fighting, then we will be there,ʼ" Johnson said.
In addition, he added that the Ukrainian president would be ready to conclude a peace agreement that would include a cessation of hostilities along the contact line, but Putin would not agree to this.
- Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova has repeatedly stated that in the spring of 2022, Russia and Ukraine were allegedly close to concluding an agreement, but then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Ukraine and "forbade" Zelensky from further negotiations, demanding that the war continue.
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