Boris Johnson has claimed that Vladimir Putin told him “I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute”, in a call ahead of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The then-British Prime minister said the remark was made after he warned a war with Ukarine would be an "utter catastrophe" during a "very long" call in February 2022.
My Johnson made the claims in a BBC documentary, examining Mr Putin's interactions with world leaders.
Mr Johnson said he told Mr Putin that invading Ukraine would lead to sanctions.
He also tried to negoiate by saying that Ukraine would not join Nato "for the foreseeable future".
But Mr Johnson said: "He threatened me at one point, and he said, 'Boris, I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute' or something like that. Jolly.
"But I think from the very relaxed tone that he was taking, the sort of air of detachment that he seemed to have, he was just playing along with my attempts to get him to negotiate."
President Putin had been "very familiar" during the "most extraordinary call", Mr Johnson said.
