The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a telephone conversation on Friday. The two European leaders agreed an importance of the dialogue with Kremlin.
The British prime minister’s press office confirmed in a statement on Friday that PM Johnson and Mr Scholz agreed that a dialogue with Russia is crucial. To avoid the deterioration of the situation, the two heads of the governments decided to use all available diplomatic channels.
The German chancellor and the UK PM also emphasized the need for allies to deliver a clear and consistent message to Moscow, “including on the repercussions of a further Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
Following the Friday phone conversation, British PM and German chancellor also agreed to continue working together and with other international partners on a comprehensive package of sanctions. “The Prime Minister stressed that those sanctions should be ready to come into force immediately in the event of further Russian incursion into Ukraine,” the statement added.
So far, the western allies and Kiev have recently been echoing allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, castigated these claims as “empty and unfounded”, serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone.