Johnson’s telephone conversations with Putin may be postponed to February 1

Telephone conversations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson may be rescheduled for February 1. On Monday, January 31, reports Reuters.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as he could.

Earlier in the day, the agency, citing a representative of the head of the British government, said that negotiations would take place on the evening of January 31 on the eve of Johnson’s visit to Ukraine.

The press secretary of the Russian leader, Dmitry Peskov, during a briefing with reporters, noted that Putin would hold an international telephone conversation on January 31. He said that the negotiations would take place around 21:00 Moscow time, but did not specify with whom exactly.

Johnson himself noted that he plans to raise the topic of Ukraine during a conversation with Putin and urge the Russian leader to avoid the worst case scenario. According to the British Prime Minister, he will consider any Russian invasion of Ukraine a catastrophe for both the world and Russia.

Also on January 31, it became known that new UK sanctions against Russia could affect the assets of Russian energy companies. According to The Times newspaper, they will include an asset freeze and a ban on entry into the United Kingdom of individuals and entities of “strategic importance” to the Russian authorities. The new sanctions package is expected to be presented by the British Cabinet later in the day.

Peskov also said that this information is alarming for the Kremlin. According to him, London’s statement also “undermines the investment attractiveness and attractiveness of the UK” in general.

On January 30, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced that the UK would expand sanctions against Russia. The minister indicated that London is going to expand the list of sanctions legislation so that any company representing the interests of the Kremlin could be subject to restrictions.

Western politicians and media representatives are spreading numerous speculations about possible Russian aggression against Ukraine. The Russian side has repeatedly denied such statements. Moscow has stressed that it has no plans to invade Ukraine.