Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike in an "extraordinary" phone call in the run-up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, The BBC reported Sunday.
The then-Prime Minister said Putin told him it "would only take a minute".
Johnson said the comment was made after he warned the war would be an "utter catastrophe" during a "very long" call with Putin in February 2022, weeks before the Russian invasion.
Details of the exchange are revealed in a new BBC documentary, examining Putin's interactions with world leaders, which will air on Monday.
According to the report, Johnson warned Putin that invading Ukraine would lead to Western sanctions and more NATO troops on Russia's borders. He also tried to deter Russian military action by telling Putin that Ukraine would not join NATO "for the foreseeable future".
"[Putin] 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,” Johnson said.
"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," he added.
Putin had been "very familiar" during the "most extraordinary call", Johnson told the BBC.
Johnson resigned as Conservative party leader last July, amid resignations by several of his ministers.
He recently reached an agreement with HarperCollins to write a memoir on his years as leader.