UK’s Johnson Warns Against Talks With Russia in Last Trip to Ukraine as PM

 

Johnson has been urging Ukraine not to negotiate with Moscow

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onAugust 24, 2022CategoriesNews

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Wednesday, where he warned against negotiations with Russia.

“This is not the time to advance some flimsy plan for negotiation,” Johnson said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Johnson, who is due to step down as prime minister next month, has now visited Kyiv three times since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. He has been one of the most hawkish NATO leaders in his rhetoric against Russia, frequently discouraging the idea of peace talks.

During one visit to Kyiv in April, Johnson said he “urged” against negotiations with Russia. According to a report from Ukrainska Pravda, Johnson told Zelensky in April that even if Ukraine was ready to sign a deal with Russia, Kyiv’s Western backers were not.

During Wednesday’s visit, Johnson pledged a new weapons package for Ukraine worth about $64 million. All of the details of the package aren’t clear, but it includes 850 Black Hornet micro-drones, which are about the size of a human thumb and can be targeted for target-spotting.

Britain has been one of NATO’s biggest supporters of Ukraine, although its total military aid is dwarfed by what the US has pledged. So far, London has announced about $2.7 billion in military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine while the US has pledged about $13.6 billion in weapons packages alone.

Britain’s support for Ukraine is not expected to wane as the two leading candidates to replace Johnson — UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak — have pledged they will continue backing Kyiv in its war.

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/08/24/uks-johnson-warns-against-talks-with-russia-in-last-trip-to-ukraine-as-pm/