Boris Johnson complained that Lavrov forced him to drink a lot of vodka next to a hot fireplace.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson complained that during a visit to Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov allegedly forced him to drink large amounts of vodka while sitting in front of a very hot fireplace. The British politician spoke about this in an episode of the show Three Answers, calling the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry a "terrible" and "absolutely hopeless" person.
Recalling his trip to the Russian capital in December 2017 as head of the Foreign Ministry, Johnson noted that at that time he believed in resetting bilateral relations and requested a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the head of state did not accept him, and therefore had to negotiate with Sergey Lavrov.
According to the former prime minister, the atmosphere at the meeting with the Russian minister was reminiscent of "a kind of punishment in a Victorian private school for boys". Johnson emphasized that the acceptance itself was painful for him, and the negotiations ultimately ended in complete failure and did not bring any results.