Boris Johnson Photo: Henry Nicholls / Reuters
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s attempts to contact Russian President Vladimir Putin risk a return to the ineffective Normandy format. In his opinion, this could undermine efforts to support Ukraine. Johnson wrote about this on the social network X, Ukrinform reports.
“I’m afraid President Zelenskyy is absolutely right. We risk returning to the dreaded Franco-German Normandy format, which treated Russia and Ukraine as equal interlocutors in an internal quarrel,” Johnson said.
Johnson stressed that such approaches are unacceptable, as they ignore the reality that it was Russia that started the war against Ukraine.
“This is a shameful betrayal of the reality that Putin has launched a criminal and unjustified invasion, and Ukraine is a completely innocent party,” the British former prime minister said.
The only way to end the war
Johnson is convinced that the only effective way to end the war is to quickly and massively strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities.
“We need to provide Ukraine with all the necessary means to win. This is not only a moral obligation, but also a path to long-term stability in the world,” he stressed.
“The Normandy Format is a negotiation mechanism between Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany established in 2014 to resolve the conflict in Donbas. The format has been criticised for its lack of results and misinterpretation of Russia’s role as an aggressor.
Johnson’s comments once again remind us of the danger of returning to the policy of appeasement of the aggressor, which in its time only intensified Russian aggression.
