Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has praised both U.S. President Joe Biden as well as the EU in his call for further sanctions to be levied against Russia.
Both the European Union and President Biden have been praised by Prime Minister Johson over their role in the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Johnson made the comments while calling for harsher sanctions to be implemented against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Despite Britain having often frosty relations with both Biden’s America and the EU in recent times, the British premier heaped praises onto both in an opinion article published in The New York Times.
“President Biden has displayed great leadership, consulting and convening allies, exposing the lie that America’s commitment to Europe is somehow diminished,” Boris Johnson claimed, further suggesting that “The European Union has undertaken a remarkable effort to align behind severe sanctions on Russia.”
“Dozens of European countries are sending defensive equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces,” he wrote, telling the reader that even more needed to be done to bring the Russians to heel.
“[H]ave we done enough for Ukraine? The honest answer is no,” Johnson asserted.
The Briton’s article goes on to list a six-step plan for taking on Russia, including increasing weapons exports — something which he euphemistically calls “defensive aid” — to Ukraine, as well as stripping all Russian banks of their ability to use the SWIFT banking transfer system, This technology is key when doing international business in the modern world.
Johnson insisted, however, that he and his allies have no ill intent towards the Russian people and that — seemingly despite the fact that the Prime Minister’s official Twitter account is completely decked out in the colours of Ukraine, and that Britain and its allies are currently exporting munitions to one party in the Ukrainian conflict — NATO has no place in the ongoing conflict.
“This is not a NATO conflict, and it will not become one,” the Conservative Party leader claimed.
“No [NATO] ally has sent combat troops to Ukraine. We have no hostility toward the Russian people, and we have no desire to impugn a great nation and a world power.”
Johnson’s claim that no NATO country has sent combat troops to Ukraine — while true — leaves out the fact that the British government recently had one of its most senior Cabinet members actively supporting the idea of British citizens travelling to Ukraine to take up arms against the Russian military on television.
Liz Truss, who serves as Britain’s Foreign Secretary, gave her full support last week to those who want to travel to Ukraine to fight Russia, saying she “absolutely” backs British citizens who want to take up arms.
“The people of Ukraine are fighting for freedom and democracy, not just for Ukraine but for the whole of Europe because that is what President Putin is challenging,” Truss suggested during an interview, adding: “absolutely, if people want to support that struggle, I would support them in doing that.”
Such a booming endorsement — especially in the face of the fact that British citizens have previously been jailed under terror charges for volunteering in foreign conflict zones — does not appear to have gone down too well with Downing Street, with the government later clarifying that those who travel for such a reason do face possible prosecution on their return.
“If you travel to eastern Ukraine to fight, or to assist others engaged in the conflict, your activities may amount to offences against UK terrorism or other legislation and you could be prosecuted on your return to the UK,” the website of Truss’s department reads, completely contradicting her earlier statements.
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