LONDON, January 25./TASS/: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that he was prepared to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin once again to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
"The truth is that if Russia’s goal is to keep NATO forces away from her borders, then if that is Russia’s goal, then invading Ukraine could scarcely be more counter-productive," the prime minister said as he gave a statement on the situation in Ukraine to the House of Commons.
"My Right Honorable Friends the Foreign and Defense Secretaries have both conveyed the same message to President Putin and I am prepared of course to speak, ready to speak to him again," Boris Johnson said, reiterating that he had a phone call with the Russian leader on December 13.
"I believe that all of Russia’s fears could yet be allayed, and we could find a path to mutual security through patient and principled diplomacy," he went on to say.
According to Boris Johnson, the UK is trying "to combine dialogue with deterrence" in its policy towards Moscow, but "will not hesitate to toughen our national sanctions against Russia" in case an allegedly planned incursion into Ukraine takes place.
