LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Mr Johnson has warned the leaders of the world that Russian invasion of Ukraine would “reverberate around the world.”
He stated that we must be “unflinchingly honest” about the situation in Ukraine and that we must not “underestimate the gravity of the issue.”
Mr Johnson said he doesn’t know what Russian President Vladimir Putin has in mind, but “omens are bleak” in a speech at a security conference in Munich.
“That is why we must unite and stand strong,” he stated.
Russia, which has over 130,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, has been warned by Western nations that it could invade the country at any time.
They accuse Russia of feigning a crisis in Ukraine’s breakaway eastern territory in order to justify an invasion.
However, Russia has denied any invasion intentions, claiming that forces are conducting military exercises in the area and accused the West of “hysteria.”
Mr Johnson emphasised that the United Kingdom still believes diplomacy and dialogue will be successful in resolving the problem.
Every time Western ministers have visited Kyiv, the people of Ukraine and their leaders have been assured that we stand foursquare behind their sovereignty and independence, he said, urging solidarity among the UK’s Western friends.
How empty, useless, and insulting such statements would appear if we simply look aside while their sovereignty and independence are in jeopardy.”
“We will witness the destruction of a democratic state, a country that has been free for a generation, with a proud history of elections,” Mr Johnson said if Ukraine is attacked.
Ukraine is a former Soviet republic with long-standing ties to Russia and borders both Russia and the EU.
Russia has long opposed Ukraine’s shift toward Western institutions, especially Nato, seeing the military alliance’s expansion towards the east as a security danger.
Any invasion, the PM warned, would be responded with penalties against Russian individuals and businesses.
He said that the UK will “open up the Matryoshka dolls” of Russian-owned businesses, making it hard for them to raise capital in London.
His remarks come after the UK announced new legislation allowing the penalties to be widened against Russia.
In case Ukraine is attacked, the shock would reverberate across the world, he said at the Munich Security Conference. Those echoes will be heard in East Asia, and they will be heard in Taiwan.
Mr Johnson met with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who stated that they had agreed on “joint next steps” and that they remained committed to de-escalation and diplomacy.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer stated in a statement that the party was “steadfast in our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He said that the government’s efforts to end the standoff are supported by the Labour, and that “diplomacy can yet prevail.”
Mr Johnson was correct to urge the case for continuing dialogue, meanwhile preparing the most harsh sanctions for Russia in case Putin chooses the calamity of war, former Prime Minister Theresa May wrote on Twitter.
Foreign ministers from the G7 group of affluent nations stated in a joint statement that they have seen “no proof” that Russia has removed some of its troops, as it has stated, and that the situation remains “gravely concerning.”
