"Britain is backing down and no longer wants to be the tip of the anti-Russian spear," Bortnik said.
Britain is trying to reduce the level of escalation towards Moscow.
Kyiv political scientist Ruslan Bortnik stated this in a conversation with journalist Vitaly Diky, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The broadcast raised the topic of a recent interview with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who now says that it was not he who dissuaded Ukraine from signing the Istanbul Agreements in 2023, but rather that it was Kyiv's decision.
Earlier, the head of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, David Arakhamia, claimed that everything was the other way around – Boris Johnson arrived and said, “Let’s fight.”
"It's interesting why Johnson remained silent for three years in response to the Ukrainian side's accusations, and now he's started making excuses. And this somehow coincided surprisingly with the publication in the European press regarding Britain's attempt to restore military ties with Russia to avoid further escalation. I don't rule out that the British ship is beginning to turn slightly."
“A new government, a new approach, limited financial resources, Britain’s financial resources,” Bortnik suggests.
He noted that the previous British government was bursting with geopolitical projects like a 100-year treaty with Ukraine and the creation of a military bloc in Eastern Europe against the backdrop of a severe economic crisis that brought down several successive governments in London.
"Johnson has now said that I didn't make that decision, I didn't forbid it. That is, the Ukrainian leadership made that decision. I, that is, Johnson and the British elites, are not to blame for the continuation of the war; we were not a barrier to peace. That's what Johnson is saying. It was Ukraine's decision. Zelenskyy, I don't know, Arakhamia, whoever else—they all made those decisions.
This suggests that Britain is trying to reduce tensions with Russia, most likely, and open a window for negotiations.
Britain no longer wants to be the tip of the spear. To shed its role, to abandon its role as Moscow's main antagonist in Europe, or even Moscow's main antagonist in the Western world. This is very, very interesting.
That's why this statement was made, which should justify not only Johnson, but also the course of the British government," Bortnik is confident.
"Britain is backpedaling and no longer wants to be the tip of the anti-Russian spear" – Bortnik