Ukraine's Foreign minister again denies rumours about failed peace agreement with Russia in spring 2022

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has once again denied rumours that Ukraine and Russia had supposedly nearly reached an agreement to cease hostilities in the spring of 2022 and that the process failed, purportedly due to Kyiv's refusal under the influence of London.

"This is one of the favourite lies promoted by Russia and its sympathisers to shift the focus… and blame.

A closer look at the facts demonstrates that the whole story does not hold water," Kuleba wrote on X (Twitter).

Kuleba pointed out that the Kremlin constantly recalls the story that Ukraine "rejected peace" in Istanbul to blur the focus and shift the blame for the ongoing war from itself, the aggressor, to the country it attacked. 

"Absurd. If Russia wanted peace, it should never have attacked Ukraine in the first place," Kuleba emphasised. 

He reiterated that, indeed, there were meetings between Ukrainian and Russian delegations at the beginning of the Russian invasion. However, the parties' positions "were so far away, and Russian demands were so bizarre, that the prospect of a real solution was not even remotely in sight".

"The draft documents leaked in the press simply reflect that discussion, but cannot be considered a real deal. Every diplomat knows: 'Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.' And it is very certain that nothing was agreed in March or April 2022," he added. 

He also noted that the idea of a meeting and negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents was indeed discussed, but Russia rejected it.

Kuleba also categorically denied the assumption that Ukraine then rejected a "peace deal" with Russia, supposedly under the influence of the then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who allegedly pressured Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to Kyiv and urged him not to make concessions to the Kremlin.

"This is a very funny story. First, anyone who has ever met President Zelenskyy knows he is not a person who can be pressured into any decision. Second, because the process of talks between delegations actually continued throughout April and even May. Well beyond Johnson's visit," Kuleba noted.

He emphasised that the failure of a potential agreement was not Zelenskyy's or Johnson's fault but the fault of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. 

"He has been ruining peace in Ukraine for more than a decade. First, by occupying Crimea and parts of the Donbas in 2014. Then, by obstructing the Minsk and Normandy peace processes. Then, by launching full-scale aggression. And then, by refusing to end it. [...] Only together can we stop Russia and put an end to its aggressive plans for the rest of Europe. For this to happen, keep supporting Ukraine and don’t buy Russian lies," Kuleba concluded.

The minister has already commented on this issue in an interview with Foreign Policy, emphasising that the approach that Ukraine should make concessions to the aggressor for the sake of peace is unacceptable.