ISTANBUL

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that in the early weeks of the current war, Ukraine and the West rejected agreements reached during peace talks held in Istanbul, seeking instead to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow. 

Speaking of the March 2022 talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, Putin said: “We had reached almost all the parameters of a possible peace agreement with government representatives in Kyiv… Yes, there were still some things that needed to be worked out, but in general the visa (deal) was worth it, it was a document.

“Then Mr. (then-British Prime Minister Boris) Johnson arrived, as is known … and gave the Ukrainians instructions to fight to the last Ukrainian. What is happening today (is) with the goal of achieving a strategic defeat of Russia,” he added, speaking to an economic forum in the port city of Vladivostok.

According to Putin, Ukrainian authorities have publicly admitted that the Russia-Ukraine war would have ended “long ago” if they had implemented what the countries agreed on in Istanbul, when the conflict was barely a month old, instead of the 30 months it has lasted since.

“But they took a different path. Here is the result,” he added.

On whether Russia is ready to negotiate now with Ukraine, Putin said in fact Moscow has never refused to do so.

“But not on the basis of some ephemeral demands, but on the basis of the documents that were agreed upon and actually initialed in Istanbul,” he added.

Russian officials have accused Kyiv numerous times of not signing a draft agreement reached during negotiations in Istanbul due to "direct pressure" from the UK, an allegation that Johnson has denied.

These claims particularly cite remarks from Ukrainian delegation chief Davyd Arakhamia in an interview last November with local media which quoted him as saying that Johnson advised Kyiv against signing any agreements with Russia.​​​​​​​