Russia’s Putin accuses Ukraine, West of rejecting Istanbul peace talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Thursday that Ukraine and Western countries rejected agreements made during peace talks in Istanbul regarding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, aiming instead for a “strategic defeat” of Russia.

Referring to the March 2022 negotiations in Istanbul, Putin said: “We had reached almost all parameters of a possible peace agreement with representatives of Kyiv… Yes, there were still some issues to be resolved, but overall, the document was worth considering.”

“Then Mr. (then-British Prime Minister Boris) Johnson arrived and instructed the Ukrainians to fight to the last Ukrainian. The goal today is to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia,” he stated at an economic forum in Vladivostok.

Putin also noted that Ukrainian officials have publicly admitted the Russia-Ukraine war could have ended “long ago” if they had implemented what was agreed upon in Istanbul, instead of letting the conflict continue for 30 months.

“But they chose a different path. This is the result,” Putin said.

When asked if Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine now, Putin replied that Moscow has never refused negotiations.

However, he insisted that discussions must be based on the documents that were agreed upon and initialed in Istanbul, not on “ephemeral demands.”

Russian officials have repeatedly accused Kyiv of failing to sign a draft agreement reached in Istanbul due to “direct pressure” from the U.K., a claim denied by Johnson.

These allegations reference statements from Ukrainian delegation chief Davyd Arakhamia, who reportedly said in a November interview that Johnson advised Kyiv against signing any agreement with Russia.