Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv on February 24, marking the third anniversary of the war's outbreak. During his visit, he met with Zelensky and reiterated his steadfast support for Ukraine, providing a brief interview to Ukrainian journalist Dmitriy Gordon. In the 11-minute conversation, Johnson explained why U.S. President Trump is pursuing such a policy towards Ukraine.
The interview took place before the dispute between Trump and Zelensky at the White House. If possible, I recommend watching this interview, which has been translated into Russian, as Johnson expressed his views not as an expert or an ordinary person, but as a politician who led the entire British government.
“As someone who loves Ukraine, firmly supports it, and believes in its victory in the war, it is hard to hear lies being told about this country from Washington. It is disgusting and a huge mistake that statements concocted by the Kremlin are being made by people who should understand these issues better than others in the White House.
To say that Ukraine started the war and to compare Zelensky to a dictator alongside Putin is an absurd thing. Yes, all of this is clearly a lie,” Johnson explained, stating that he does not endorse the words Trump is saying.
By the way, after Johnson's interview, Trump managed to call Zelensky a dictator. However, it is true that Mr. Trump referred to Zelensky as a dictator who was not elected, and this is evidenced on the Kun.uz YouTube channel.
According to Johnson, Trump knows that much of what he says is not true and that he has chosen to exert such pressure just to get Zelensky to sign an agreement: “I have plenty of reasons to respect Trump; he wants peace. There are three parties that the American president needs to negotiate with: Ukraine, Europe, and Russia. Trump wants to mobilize all three. For example, he says Europe needs to do more to protect Ukraine because, after all, Ukraine is truly in Europe. Britain also needs to increase its military spending to 3 percent of GDP by 2030. That is why Trump is pressuring the Europeans,” Johnson stated.
According to the former British Prime Minister, there are many people among the Republicans who are whispering nonsense into Trump's ear. Johnson openly expressed his dislike for Trump’s friend Tucker Carlson, who interviewed Putin while the war was ongoing, and cited this journalist as an example of those misleading Trump.
“The influence of people like Tucker Carlson is very large. They have filled Trump's head with nonsensical talk about the war. Trump is trying to convince skeptics that the U.S. will get something from Ukraine for its assistance in the war.
For instance, in 1941, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt received a lot of money, military bases in the Caribbean, and other things from the British. In return, he supported Britain in the war through the lend-lease program. You know, Britain was paying off its debt to the U.S. under that lend-lease program until 2006. For this reason, Trump wants to show that he will get something from Ukraine. The agreement on mineral resources emerged in this way,” the politician said.
In Johnson's view, there are very harsh clauses in the agreement, but Ukraine is forced to sign it for its future. Because the agreement obligates the U.S. to support Ukraine.
“I think Ukraine needs to sign the agreement. Yes, as a supporter of Ukraine, I do not endorse the clauses in the agreement. But this agreement will compel the U.S. to support a free, sovereign, and secure Ukraine. Yes, the U.S. will take a 50 percent stake from this investment fund. But as long as Ukraine is not secure, not a single penny will go to the fund. I think it is better to sign this agreement than to leave Ukraine under Moscow's control. After all, the agreement will also compel the U.S. to support Ukraine during Trump's presidency. This is a significant achievement,” Johnson said.
The politician believes that those in the White House do not understand what Putin wants: “Trump thinks the issue can be resolved through territorial division, but that is not the case; Putin wants to have full control over Ukraine,” Johnson stated.
Dmitriy Gordon asked Johnson what he would do if he were in Trump's place tomorrow. Johnson gave an interesting answer and mentioned Tucker Carlson again.
“First of all, I would tell the Republicans in Congress to stop being foolish, then I would tell Tucker Carlson to go to the nearest lake and throw his head in it. I would increase military aid to Ukraine and tell Putin, ‘Vladimir, you lost; you wanted to enslave Ukraine, but as long as I am here, that will not happen.’
To engage the American public in helping Ukraine, I might have signed the mineral resources agreement and started the process of accepting Ukraine into NATO. Just like in the 1950s with Germany, we would include only the territories controlled by Kyiv into the alliance and accelerate the integration process,” Johnson said.
Prepared by O'tkir Jalolxonov.
