Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin in the fall of 2021 that Ukraine would not become a member of NATO in the foreseeable future. The newspaper reports this Daily Express With reference to the book “War” by American journalist Bob Woodward.
The story claims that Johnson approached Putin by phone in 2021 and assured the Russian leader that he had “no reason to invade Ukraine” and that Kiev “will not be joining NATO any time soon.”
According to the author of the book, Putin responded by asking which period was being discussed. “The reality is that Ukraine will not join for the foreseeable future,” Johnson said.
According to Woodward, the then British Prime Minister believed that Vladimir Putin wanted Western leaders to openly declare the impossibility of Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. Johnson was also alleged to have believed that the relevant press releases would be an “admission of defeat”.
It was announced that the phone call between the two leaders took place after the G20 summit held in October 2021. The author of the book “War” also writes that Western leaders received information from Joe Biden that Russia is moving troops to the Ukrainian border.
“We have information about what they are really thinking, planning and conspiring. But we don’t know if they actually decided to pull the trigger, but the trigger was pulled,” Biden allegedly told allied leaders.
Previously it became clear Trump’s attitude toward Ukraine during his presidency.