MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. Ukrainian authorities considered the possibility of relocating to London in early February 2022, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister (2019-2020) and ex-Ambassador to the UK (2020-2023) Vadim Pristayko said.

"We wanted to present a proposal to the government at that time about a potential search for a location where we could continue [governing the country]. This was not about a government in exile but about continuing governance," he said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine, replying to a question as to whether the possibility of relocating the Ukrainian government to London was indeed discussed.

According to him, the Ukrainian authorities were "seeking the opportunity to relocate funds as well as addressing the issue of governing the country." "This was my proposal. It was even earlier, on February 8-10 [2022]. <...>. I was accompanying [then UK] Prime Minister [Boris] Johnson [to Kiev]," Pristayko added.

Johnson visited Kiev several times in early 2022. In 2023, David Arakhamia, the leader of the Servant of the People faction, in an interview with the Ukrainian online newspaper Strana, said that Ukraine had refused to negotiate with Russia in 2022 after Johnson’s visit to Kiev.