A month after Boris Johnson wished Vladimir Putin were a woman, Russian diplomat gives it back

IN another incident of the new Cold-War clash, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova made a scathing sarcasm against outgoing British prime minister Boris Johnson, saying the latter could turn into a woman to compete for the post of the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Zakharova said this on her Telegram channel on Saturday (30), Russia's state-run TASS news agency said. The remarks came a month after Johnson remarked that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if its president Vladimir Putin were a woman.

Earlier, a TASS source in Brussels, which is the headquarters of the NATO, said that Johnson, who quit the post of the British premier under growing pressure from his own Conservative Party, stands zero chance of becoming the new NATO general secretary particularly because he is not a woman and doesn't represent a new member state of the alliance.

The current general secretary, Jens Stoltenberg, is nearing the conclusion of his term.

Zakharova took a dig at Johnson saying, "Nothing prevents Boris Johnson from suddenly discovering an inner woman. Trendy, bold, his style."

According to her, the number of genders recognised in the NATO member states allowed Johnson to settle for the one that suits him the best.

"Even if NATO were to choose from people who called themselves women, they could always suddenly find the inner man or the other gender," Zakharova joked.

Last week, the Daily Telegraph, UK, reported that former British prime minister Theresa May and David Cameron and British defence secretary Ben Wallace were also among the potential candidates for the plum post from Britain.

According to media observations, the post of the NATO's secretary general has not gone to a British representative for a long time owing to the US's lack of trust of European politicians who have sought to form a new European Union force, said this report.

Also, NATO is expected to have a female secretary general this time, first time in its history, said another report.

Zakharova's remarks targeting Johnson also came a month after the latter took a dig at Putin saying had he been a woman, Moscow would not have invaded Ukraine.

Johnson said ahead of a NATO meeting in Madrid, Spain, that the "crazy, macho" invasion of Russia was a "perfect example of toxic masculinity" and he called for "more women in positions of power".