Johnson on television: Germany wanted to see Ukraine give up

     

      Boris Johnson: "Germany wanted  Ukraine to give up" 

By: 

 

Hans Österman 

 

Published: Less than 20 min since 

 

 

Boris Johnson. Photo: Liam McBurney / AP TT NEWS AGENCY 

 

NEWS 

 

Germany wanted Ukraine to surrender if Russia invaded, Boris Johnson claimed in a CNN interview. He was immediately counterstabbed. 

 

- Complete nonsense, said the German government spokesperson in English. 

 

Boris Johnson was in Lisbon on Monday to participate in the one-year celebration ofCNN:s Portuguese channel. In a hybrid between speech and interview, he planted a seed that quickly grew into a war of words. 

 

The former British prime minister said from the stage that France was ultimately "living in denial" about the risk of a risky invasion of Ukraine. 

 

He also claimed that Germany was of the position that Zelensky's government would give up quickly if Putin started a war. 

 

- This was a big shock. We could see Russian battalion groups mobilizing, but different countries had very different perspectives. The German position at one point was that if that were to happen, which would be a disaster, it would be better if it all ended quickly and Ukraine surrendered, Johnson said, according to CNN. 

 

Boris Johnson:'Disastrous' 

 

He said Germany had 'all sorts of economic reasons' for the alleged stance.

 

- I couldn't stand behind it, I thought it was a disastrous approach. But I can understand why they thought and felt the way they did. Germany has been rapidly trying to reduce its reliance on risky energy since Moscow's invasion. 

 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy with his guards. Photo: AP 

 

Boris Johnson also said that Italy initially responded to the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine by stating that they "could not stand behind the position we are taking". According to Johnson, it was due to the country's "massive dependence on Russian hydrocarbons". 

 

Towards the end of his speech, Johnson noted that attitudes quickly changed across Europe once Putin's forces crossed the border. 

 

- What happened was that everyone - Germans, French, Italians, Joe Biden - saw that there was no alternative because you cannot negotiate with the guy (Putin). The EU has done it brilliantly. 

 

The German answer – in English 

 

On Wednesday, the German government responded to Boris Johnson's claim in sharp terms. In a mixture of German and English, spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit shot back: 

 

- I am tempted to switch to English and say that what Boris Johnson said is "utter nonsense" (complete nonsense), he said according to The Independent.

 

He continued with a personal attack: 

 

- We know that the highly entertaining former prime minister always has his own relationship to the truth. 

 

 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Photo: Michael Kappeler / AP 

 

 

Vladimir Putin. Photo: Alex Towards