Russia says Johnson is lying about Putin's threat to attack Britain

The Kremlin called this Monday "lie" the recent statements of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about an alleged threat by Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding a missile attack on the United Kingdom.

“What Johnson has said is not true. More precisely, it is a lie. I don't know if it is a conscious lie, about which one would have to wonder why he has given this version, or if it is unconscious, since he did not understand what Putin was talking about," said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dimitri Peskov.

“I repeat again and officially. Is a lie. There were no missile threats." has stated, before revealing that “talking about the challenges to Russia's security, Putin responded that, if Ukraine joined NATO, the potential deployment of NATO or US missiles on the borders implied that one of them could reach Moscow in minutes”.

Likewise, Peskov declined to comment on a documentary broadcast by the British television channel BBC in which Johnson's statements appear, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. “If the rest of the film goes along the same lines (as the statements of the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), We advise you not to waste your time (watching the documentary)”, remarked.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to attack him with a missile during a phone call they had before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

According to the former British Conservative leader, Putin told him that he did not want to hurt him but that the missile strike "would only take a minute."

The threat, according to what Johnson told in a program that the BBC will broadcast tonight, was made after the former prime minister warned Putin that the war would be a “total catastrophe”.

Johnson's story is part of a British public channel documentary that assesses Putin's contacts with world leaders before the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The former head of the United Kingdom Government also warned Putin, in this long telephone conversation, that invasion of ukraine would trigger western sanctions and the deployment of forces of the Atlantic Alliance on the borders with Russia.

Johnson also tried to prevent Russian military action by telling Putin that Ukraine would not join NATO.

“He threatened me at one point and told me: 'Boris, I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute' or something like that." Johnson recounted.

"But I think because of the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the kind of nonchalant air that he seemed to have, he was just playing with my attempts to get him to negotiate," added Johnson, who He called the call "very familiar" and "extraordinary."

The BBC documentary, which is titled "Putin vs the West," also says that on February 11, 2022, Defense Secretary, Ben Wallace traveled to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, and he left Russia with assurances that the invasion of the Ukraine would not take place.

(With information from Europe Press Y EFE)