LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Emmanuel Macron on Friday, with whom he agreed to work more closely on security issues and whom he urged caution over any negotiations with Russia, which would play into Moscow’s “false rhetoric”.
According to an account of the call published by Britain, the two leaders, who have known a strained relationship, pledged to rekindle the “French-British relationship”, when Boris Johnson congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his re-election to the French presidency.
The British prime minister and the French president agreed to work more closely on long-term security issues and economic support for Ukraine, as well as efforts to isolate Russia.
“(Boris Johnson) insisted that Russia should not be negotiated on terms that give credence to the Kremlin’s false rhetoric on the invasion, but stressed that that decision was up to the Ukrainian government,” indicates the document.
Emmanuel Macron spoke regularly with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the first weeks of the conflict. The two leaders spoke again this week.
Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron also addressed the issue of the Northern Irish protocol concluded between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) to govern post-Brexit trade.
The British Prime Minister recalled the “long-standing and serious concerns” of the United Kingdom, and its belief that significant changes were needed to protect peace.
(Reportage Kate Holton; French version Camille Raynaud, edited by Matthieu Protard)
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