Was Boris Johnson really threatened with a Russian missile?
In a BBC documentary, former UK prime minister Boris Johnson alleged that a threat of a missile strike on his country was made to him by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a phone call. Alluding to the possibility of such a strike, and speaking of strike timeframes, although in an exaggerated manner, Mr Putin is claimed to have stated something that could and should not have been left unaddressed by an official British response. Moreover, as this conversation allegedly occurred before the invasion of Ukraine last February, the Russian President’s choice of phrase, if true, would have amounted to disregard for diplomatic protocol still being observed by the two states at the time.
Mr Johnson alleged that Mr Putin said: “Boris, I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute.” And while some will suggest that the revelation reaffirms the Kremlin’s way of thinking, the familiarity and the seemingly light-hearted nature of the exchange give an impression, false or not, of the value its leadership places on the lives of others. But such treatment of another state’s leader could also be telling about how Mr Putin might have viewed Mr Johnson…
Stepan Stepanenko (Project Fellow, Neo-Populism) for The National News.
