French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault said the appointment was “a sign of the British political crisis that has come out of the referendum vote”.
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“He lied a lot to the British people and now it is him who has his back against the wall”.
“(He has) his back against the wall to defend his country but also with his back against the wall the relationship with Europe should be clear”, Mr Ayrault said.
Germany is bound to play a crucial role in the UK’s eventual dealings with the European Union over Brexit, although Boris Johnson’s precise role in the future negotiations is not yet clear given the setting up of a new government department separate from the Foreign Office.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had said a day earlier he was outraged by Britain’s “irresponsible politicians who first lured the country into Brexit, then. got out, refused to take responsibility, and went off to go and play cricket”.
Mr Johnson’s drawing of parallels between the EU’s aims for a united Europe and that of Hitler has not been forgotten in European capitals.
Johnson said he wanted reshape Britain’s identity as a “great global player”.
Johnson’s appointment was announced during a regular State Department briefing, and spokesman Mark Toner appeared to bite back a grin when he heard the news.
Controversy over Johnson’s appointment overshadowed the first day of May’s premiership, which brings some stability after three tumultuous weeks following the European Union vote.
Davis has previously said that Britain should take a “brisk, but measured” approach to exit talks with the EU. “Boris as foreign minister, it’s just getting better and better…”
A senior German Social Democrat, Ralf Stegner, said an undiplomatic Johnson would now “negotiate the Brexit”.
Carl Bildt, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, tweeted a now-notorious picture of Mr Johnson dangling on the Olympic zip wire.
Zajarova acknowledged that Russian Federation “would not miss” previous Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, and ex-Prime Minister David Cameron.
“On all the phone calls, the Prime Minister emphasised her commitment to delivering the will of the British people to leave the EU”. Johnson actively campaign for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union – May was a Remainer – and backed her rival to be Conservative Party leader.
The ministers will on Monday formally discuss the conflicts in Syria and Libya as well as the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, including at a breakfast with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Branding him a liar, a coward or a joker, Europe’s political class have greeted Eurosceptic Boris Johnson’s appointment as Britain’s foreign minister with a chorus of dismay.
The flamboyant Johnson was seen as an effective cheerleader for London during his stint as London mayor, a tenure that included the successful 2012 Summer Olympics.
On her first full day in office, May dismantled Cameron’s affluent metropolitan clique, dubbed the “Notting Hill set” after the former prime minister’s trendy West London neighborhood.
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May “made clear we will do an Autumn Statement (budget) in the usual way, in the autumn, and we will look carefully over the summer at the situation”, Hammond told Sky News.
