Johnson's secret visit to Kyiv: what Zelensky and British Prime Minister talked about/Office of the President of Ukraine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid an unexpected visit to Kyiv over the weekend. His arrival was not advertised. Johnson arrived to hold face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The positive impact of Johnson's visit on the negotiating position of Ukraine, the military aspect of the confrontation between the two leaders and the British factor in lobbying for Ukrainian interests at the event – in an exclusive interview with the Channel 24 website, a political analyst of the Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Institute, an expert on foreign and domestic policy Ukraine Vladimir Gorbach.

Details of Johnson's visit

Vladimir, was Johnson's Saturday visit really unexpected?

This visit was secret on the outside, but internally it was prepared. Johnson's arrival was prepared by both sides. This is reminiscent of certain visits by US or other leaders to Afghanistan. They weren't announced ahead of time either. They were already talked about after the fact.

All this is done for security reasons. Ukraine has now become the same as Afghanistan used to be in terms of visiting safety for the leaders of the Western world.

Was Johnson's visit expected? Considering that the previous meeting of the two leaders was on the eve of the war – literally a week before its transition to a new hot phase, then, in fact, the current visit by the head of the British government to Kyiv was to some extent a continuation of communication between the leaders of the states. I think that they had something to talk about, something to remember, they did not ignore the previous conversation.

Vladimir Gorbach told the details of Johnson's visit/Photo courtesy of the author

Themes of the meeting with Zelensky

What topics were discussed?

The topic of conversation covered the war and the help we needed. Of course, including the military-security component, that is, the supply of our country with weapons. What did Boris Johnson say in his statement? I think that this visit took place already at the moment when the weapons that were announced were already on our territory. Thus, it would be correct to do so. I hope that's exactly what they did.

No less important was the political and diplomatic part. Apparently, the course of negotiations in Istanbul was discussed. They spoke, in my opinion, about the need to strengthen the negotiating position by strengthening our position on the battlefield.

Johnson could come, among other things, to influence the position of our leadership after the Zelensky meeting with Nehammer?

Yes, if we analyze the information field, then this is the impression that is formed. The synchronicity of these events is very striking: first, our president meets with the Austrian chancellor. Johnson arrives just after lunch the same day.

< em>Johnson secretly arrived in Kyiv/Photo by the Office of the President of Ukraine

As a result of the conversation with Nehammer, Zelensky begins to talk about the inevitability of the need to negotiate with the Russians. Next comes a meeting with the Prime Minister of Great Britain, a walk around Kiev and a completely different message from Yermak's adviser Mikhail Podolyak.

On the air of a single information marathon, Podolyak is already talking about completely different theses. The fact that negotiations, a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents is possible only after two or three major victories on the battlefield. Here you can read the influence of Boris Johnson, his conversation with Vladimir Zelensky. The British leader slightly corrected the ideological position of our president.

So did Johnson manage to get through to Zelensky and “knock on the head” of the Office in order to prevent rash actions on our part in the future?

I don't know if there were contacts with representatives of the Office so that he could “squeal” them, but there was a very interesting story with photographs that were later released to the public. First, they posted a photo of the conversation between Zelensky and Johnson, where they are sitting together at the table. And there are no other representatives of the office.

From this we can conclude that the meeting was held in a tête-à-tête mode. Then, after a while, photos from the street appear as they all enter the President's Office building. It already has Yermak and other representatives of the Office. This is a clear signal that the Office staff is also nearby.

It can be concluded that in the part of the visit that was reserved for the so-called “face-to-face confrontation” of the two leaders, in a private conversation between them, some things were voiced that should have strengthened Zelensky's confidence that Ukraine could win this war. It just needs less fluctuation. An indispensable condition for this confidence will be increased armed assistance from the Western allies. kiev-o-chem-govorili-zelenskij-i-britanskij-premer-7d4f235.jpg” alt=”Johnson's secret visit to Kyiv: what Zelensky and British Prime Minister talked about” />

Johnson and Zelensky had rum tête-à-tête/Photo by the Office of the President of Ukraine

The issue of sanctions against Russia

Were sanctions discussed?

This topic could not help but be heard during meetings. She definitely got up. Boris Johnson, in a confidential style, could tell in what vein the negotiations with the Europeans regarding sanctions took place. Information about contacts with the Americans and the Germans was announced, I think so.

The Germans do not want to refuse to buy Russian energy resources yet, but it's only a matter of time before we all get together -We'll “roll” Berlin in this regard. Everything goes to this. Even France has already declared aloud its readiness to give up Russian energy resources. Germany remained as the largest consumer and sponsor of the Russian budget because of the payment for hydrocarbons.

The Germans do not want to do this, as well as, by the way, the Austrians. However, Russia's further defeats on the battlefield will push Europe towards complete economic isolation of the latter and accelerate the collapse of Putin's economy.