Boris Johnson reacts to Scholz's call to Putin and points out the risks

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reacted to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's call to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. Johnson called such communication risky and noted that it could return the politician to work in the Normandy format. Johnson wrote about it on his page in X.

At the same time, he agreed with the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the conversation between Scholz and Putin opened a "Pandora's box" and now there is a risk of "returning to the terrible Franco-German Normandy format, which considered Russia and Ukraine as equal interlocutors in an internal dispute".

Johnson emphasised that this format has nothing to do with reality, and Russia cannot be seen as an equal participant in the conflict, as it is an aggressor and invader.

This is a shameful betrayal of reality, which is that the ways have launched a criminal and unjustified invasion, while Ukraine is a completely innocent party. The only way to end this war is to massively and rapidly strengthen Ukraine's position," Johnson wrote.

It should be noted that on 15 November, the FRG chancellor and the head of the Kremlin held telephone talks. Scholz condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and demanded the withdrawal of troops. In his conversation with Putin, he also stated Germany's intention to continue to support Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. It is known that Zelensky knew about the upcoming call and was against Scholz's call to Putin. According to the Ukrainian President, the contact of the Western leader with Putin will reduce the isolation of the latter and open "Pandora's box".

The Normandy format is a quadrilateral format meetings between Ukraine, Germany, France and russia to discuss issues related to the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine that started in 2014.