Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims that France did not want to believe in the possibility of a Russian attack on Ukraine, and accuses the German government of initially preferring a quick defeat of Kyiv over a protracted conflict, CNN reports.

Johnson made the comments in an interview with CNN Portugal, saying that while the European Union had meanwhile rallied behind Kiev, attitudes among Western leaders were mixed before Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale war against Ukraine on February 24.

In the interview, he singled out three EU heads of state.

Speaking about the months leading up to the invasion, he said the build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, first reported by the US daily The Washington Post in early November last year, was a “huge shock”.

Boris Johnson says that Germany wanted Ukraine to give in quickly for economic reasons

“We could see a build-up of Russian battle groups, but different countries had different perspectives,” said Boris Johnson, who resigned as British prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party on July 7 after a series of scandals rocked the cabinet.

“At one point, the German view was that if this (no Russian invasion) didn’t happen, which would be a disaster, it would be better if it all ended quickly and Ukraine conceded,” he says. a British politician, adding that Berlin rationalized this approach with “all sorts of good economic reasons.”

Speaking about Paris’ position, he told CNN Portugal reporters:

“Make no doubt that the French objected to the last moment.”

He also criticized Rome’s initial response to the threat of a Russian invasion, saying at one point then-Prime Minister Mario Draghi “simply said they cannot support the position we (Britain) are taking” because of Italy’s “huge dependence from the import of energy carriers from Russia.

The former British prime minister highly appreciates the EU’s response to the Russian invasion

Despite being known as a staunch Brexit supporter, Boris Johnson added that “the EU has done brilliantly in standing up to Russia” since the war broke out.

“After all my worries… I take my hat off to the way the EU acted. The sanctions were tough,” he said of the bloc’s historic measures against Russia, its economy and officials in Moscow responsible for starting or supporting the war.

But Johnson said that “what happened was that everybody – the Germans, the French, the Italians, everybody, (US President) Joe Biden – saw that there was no other way out. Because it was impossible to come to an agreement with this guy (Vladimir Putin). This is a key moment,” the former British prime minister emphasized.

His comments came after Rishi Sunak, the new prime minister in London, approved a major new military aid package for Ukraine on Monday, which will include helicopters for the first time.

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