Johnson tells Putin invading Ukraine would be ‘tragic miscalculation’

Boris Johnson has told Vladimir Putin that he will make a “tragic miscalculation” if he invades Ukraine, in a phone call delayed since Monday and preceded by Russian insults.

Putin, the Kremlin said, had complained that Russia’s demand for justifiable security guarantees had not been met. The Russian president also told Johnson that Kyiv was involved in “the chronic sabotage” of the Minsk agreements designed to reach a political settlement in the east of Ukraine, including greater autonomy.

The Kremlin did not say how Russia would respond to what it described as Nato’s unreadiness to answer what it sees as justified Russian concerns.

“Nato’s unwillingness to adequately respond to Russia’s well-founded concerns was noted, while hiding behind references to the [Nato] alliance’s so-called open-door policy, which contradicts the fundamental principle of indivisibility of security,” it said.

No 10 said: “The prime minister expressed his deep concern about Russia’s current hostile activity on the Ukrainian border. He emphasised the need to find a way forward which respects both Ukraine’s territorial integrity and right to self-defence.

“The prime minister stressed that any further Russian incursion into Ukrainian territory would be a tragic miscalculation.”

Johnson refused to backtrack on Nato’s open-door policy, saying: “All European democracies have a right to aspire to Nato membership. This right fully applies to Ukraine.”

He also reiterated that Nato was a defensive alliance. The spokesperson added: “The leaders agreed that aggravation was in no one’s interest. The prime minister stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy, and the need to include Ukraine in talks.”

Putin and Johnson agreed that they had been able to co-operate over Iran, Afghanistan and climate change, according to No 10, adding they needed to “apply this spirit of dialogue to the current tensions in order to find a peaceful resolution”.

The conversation finally went ahead following a cancellation of the call on Monday due to Johnson’s need to answer MPs’ questions about the damning update to an official report showing parties had been repeatedly held in No 10 in breach of Covid regulations.

Johnson was expected to use the call to try to convince Putin he would end up paying an unacceptably high price if he invaded Ukraine, including sanctions against his inner political circle and the Russian economy, export controls and fierce British-backed military resistance by Ukrainians.

He also sought to warn Putin that his explicit use of energy supplies to reward his political allies in Europe and punish his opponents would backfire as it was driving Europe to look for more reliable alternative sources of supply.

With Britain at the forefront of the nations warning about the imminence of a Russian attack, Johnson could hardly have expected the red-carpet treatment, but the Kremlin in advance of the call also tried to belittle the UK’s influence in the crisis, saying Putin was happy to hold talks with anyone, even the “utterly confused”.

Before the call, Johnson told MPs: “We have been helping to bring the west together to defy what I think is completely unacceptable threats and intimidation from the Putin regime against Ukraine.

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“The situation is very perilous, and the job of the UK is to lead the west in bringing together the most important countries in creating a package of economic sanctions that will deter President Putin from what I believe would be a disastrous miscalculation, and also to strengthen our support for the Ukrainian people and, indeed, the Ukrainian army.”

Earlier in the day, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, took the UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, to task over her comment that “we are supplying and offering extra support to our Baltic allies across the Black Sea”.

The Baltic Sea and the Black Sea – where Ukraine sits on the coast – are on opposite sides of Europe. The Foreign Office said that Truss’s remarks made during a weekend TV interview had been misinterpreted.

Zakharova said: “Ms Truss, your knowledge of history is nothing compared to your knowledge of geography. If anyone needs saving from anything, it’s the world, from the stupidity and ignorance of British politicians.”