Boris Johnson has pledged support to Ukraine after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky – but the ‘partygate’ scandal followed him to Kyiv as he was asked ‘why should the international community take your
diplomacy seriously?’The prime minister warned Russian troops on the Ukrainian border was possibly the greatest act of hostility ‘towards the Ukraine in our lifetimes’ during a press conference today.
He added: ‘It goes without saying that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a political disaster, a humanitarian disaster, in my view it would also be for Russia, for the world, a military disaster as well.’
But when the press in Ukraine were invited to ask questions, the first question was: ‘Why should the international community take your diplomacy seriously when you’re so preoccupied at home? When you put talking to MPs ahead of talking to President Putin?’
A call between the Tory leader and the Russian president was due to take place yesterday afternoon, but had to be rescheduled after the long-awaited Sue Gray report found ‘failures of leadership and judgment’.
It is understood to have slipped to today after Moscow reportedly rejected a request for a brief delay.
Responding to questioning, Mr Johnson insisted his focus was ‘
on delivering on the priorities of the British people and they include ensuring that we are secure in our relations with our friends and allies and that our friends and allies are secure’.
He added: ‘I think there’s a great deal of concern in our country about what we’re seeing on the border with Ukraine.
‘I think it’s absolutely vital that the UK government should step up now, bring together our friends and partners in the west in the way that we are and prepare the package of economic sanctions that we have.’
Met police have been given more than 300 photos and 500 pieces of paper as officers look into a number of alleged parties held by members of the government while millions followed Covid rules.
Questioned on whether he would commit to publishing the full Sue Gray inquiry after the redacted version was released yesterday, the PM replied: ‘Yes, of course we’ll publish everything that we can as soon as the process has been completed, as I said yesterday.’
The Kremlin is seeking legally binding guarantees from the US and Nato that Ukraine will never join the bloc, deployment of Nato weapons near Russian borders will be halted and the alliance’s forces will be rolled back from Eastern Europe.
The demands, rejected by Nato and the US as non-starters, come amid fears that Russia might invade Ukraine, fuelled by the build-up of about 100,000 Russian troops near Ukraine’s borders.
The UK has pledged £88 million to Ukraine in a bid to support democracy and reduce reliance on Russia.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
from News – Metro https://ift.tt/A8Tho6LN5
0 Comments