Socio-Economics History Blog

Socio-Economics History Blog

Boris Johnson Pressured Zelenskyy to Ditch Peace Talks With Russia: Ukrainian Paper

by mosesman
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walk in Kyiv on April 9, 2022. (Photo: Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
  • Boris Johnson Pressured Zelenskyy to Ditch Peace Talks With Russia: Ukrainian Paper
    by , https://www.commondreams.org/
    “The British government has become an obstacle to peace in Ukraine,” said the Stop the War Coalition. “The conflict there is developing into a proxy war between Russia and NATO and it is the Ukrainian people who will suffer the consequences.”
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    The Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda reported Thursday that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used his surprise visit to Kyiv last month to pressure President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cut off peace negotiations with Russia, even after the two sides appeared to have made tenuous progress toward a settlement to end the war.
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    Citing unnamed sources from Zelenskyy’s “inner circle” and advisory team, Pravdareported that “Johnson brought two simple messages to Kyiv”:
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    “The first is that Putin is a war criminal; he should be pressured, not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not. We can sign [an agreement] with you [Ukraine], but not with him. Anyway, he will screw everyone over,” is how one of Zelenskyy’s close associates summed up the essence of Johnson’s visit…
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    Johnson’s position was that the collective West, which back in February had suggested Zelenskyy should surrender and flee, now felt that Putin was not really as powerful as they had previously imagined.
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    Moreover, there is a chance to “press” him. And the West wants to use it.
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    In public remarks during his trip, Johnson vowed that the U.K.–in line with the U.S., Germany, and other western powers–would continue ramping up its “military and economic support and convening a global alliance to bring this tragedy to an end, and ensure Ukraine survives and thrives as a free and sovereign nation.”
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    “I made clear today that the United Kingdom stands unwaveringly with them in this ongoing fight,” the right-wing British leader said, “and we are in it for the long run.”
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    In the weeks ahead of Johnson’s April 9 visit, high-level diplomatic talks held in Belarus and Turkey had failed to yield a diplomatic breakthrough, though reports in mid-March indicated that Russian and Ukrainian delegations “made significant progress” toward a 15-point peace deal that would involve Ukraine renouncing its NATO ambitions in exchange for the withdrawal of Moscow’s troops.
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