LONDON – Boris Johnson warned Emmanuel Macron that resolving the conflict in Ukraine would now only cause “permanent instability”, according to the UK government.
In a British account of the couple’s Sunday meeting at the G-7 summit – contested by the Elysee Palace – Downing Street said Johnson had told Macron that such a move would “bring [Russian President Vladimir] Putin licenses forever to manipulate both sovereign states and international markets.
At the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the French president was one of the few Western leaders to maintain a dialogue with Vladimir Putin and to speak regularly with the Russian president since the beginning of the conflict.
Macron also warned that Russia should not be “humiliated” because of “Putin’s historic and fundamental mistake.”
A spokesman for Elise said Macron and the British prime minister had “reaffirmed their strong determination to support Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity and to prepare for the country’s reconstruction.”
But the French side disputed Downing Street’s version of events. “No, the prime minister [Johnson] did not warn the president [Macron]Said the employee. “They held a discussion on Ukraine, during which the president reaffirmed his determination to support Ukraine.
Downing Street said Johnson and Macron agreed that now was the “critical moment in the course of the conflict” and that there was “an opportunity to reverse the course of the war.”
The UK leader’s comments came after he called on the G7 and NATO allies not to encourage Ukraine to put up with a “bad peace” as Russia’s war drags on.
Clea Caulcutt contributed to the report. This story has been updated with additional reports.
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