British Foreign Secretary found himself in an awkward situation when Russian pranksters revealed that they had held an eighteen minute conversation with the British leader while pretending to be Armenia’s new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Pranksters Vladimir “Vovan” Kuznetsov and Alexei “Lexus” Stolyarov, who are said to have ties to Russian intelligence agencies, released an audio recording of the call which they claim occurred last week.
Britain’s Foreign Office confirmed in a statement that it was indeed the country’s foreign secretary on the call, but claimed that he had been aware the call was a hoax.
A senior British diplomat meanwhile, reproached Russia for the call and held it responsible for the prank.
“This seems to be the latest desperate attempt by the Kremlin to save face after it was internationally shamed in the wake of Skripal attack.”
“Boris rumbled them pretty quickly and ended the call. It is tragic to see a major international power reduced to failed pranks you would usually only see on Trigger Happy TV,” the spokesperson said.
A spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Theresa May also highlighted the PM’s dismay on the incident, claiming,
“This should not have happened and an investigation is under way to discover why, and to make sure it does not happen again.”
The call itself is eighteen minutes long and involves Johnson conversing with an individual speaking English in a heavy Russian accent, and claiming to be Armenia’s newly crowned PM.
Conversation turns to Russia with Johnson warning the PM that the West does not want a new Cold War.
“If I have a message to Putin, it’s that we don’t want a cold war but we do want to see an improvement in the way Russia behaves,” Boris is heard saying.
The foreign minister then assures Armenia of Britain’s support, but highlights that London is aware of the tight-rope Armenia needs to walk because of its geographic proximity to Russia.
“We have to stand firm against them, though I appreciate that your geography dictates a balancing act.”
When asked by the pranksters if he thinks Russia is responsible for the poison attack on Yuri Skripal and his daughter, Johnson replies,
“We are, like, almost 100% sure. We will be able to do more to illustrate that.”
The conversation, however, soon seems to border on the absurd when the pranksters allege that Russian President Vladimir Putin is in fact funding Britain’s Labour Party. Perhaps Johnson then realises that the call is a hoax, for the British side terminates the call very soon.
The Foreign Office seemed to verify this in its statement which read,
“The Foreign Secretary realised it was a hoax, and ended the call. We checked it out and knew immediately it was a prank call. The use of chemical weapons in Salisbury and Syria, and recent events in Armenia are serious matters. These childish actions show the lack of seriousness of the caller and those behind him