“Certain lobbies” sabotaged the draft peace deal agreed in the early months of the conflict, the Turkish president has said
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that peace talks in Istanbul in March 2022, aimed at ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, failed to reach their goal due to opposition from certain interests.
Erdogan discussed these negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv on Monday during a press conference at the Turkish House in New York, emphasizing Ankara’s positive role as a mediator in various conflicts.
“We have made efforts to establish a just peace since the beginning of the [Ukraine-Russia] war, and we continue to do so,” he said, as quoted by Anadolu news agency.
“The negotiations in Istanbul have proven the success of Türkiye’s active role. However, certain lobbies did not want these efforts to achieve their goal,”Erdogan added.
The 2022 negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow to resolve their differences resulted in a draft treaty. If implemented, Ukraine would have agreed to become a neutral nation with a limited army in exchange for international security guarantees.
Shortly after the document was signed by heads of the respective delegations, Kyiv made a U-turn and declared military victory over Moscow as its only option in the conflict.
This policy shift was triggered by a visit to Kyiv by then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a Russia hawk, who told the Ukrainians to keep fighting, according to Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia, who signed the draft treaty on Kyiv’s behalf.
Moscow believes that Johnson instructed Ukraine not to compromise, as the West is interested in inflicting maximum damage on Russia regardless of the cost borne by the Ukrainian people. Johnson has claimed he simply advised Kyiv not to trust the Kremlin and that his words did not constitute an instruction.
Having stepped down in September 2022 following a series of domestic scandals, Johnson remains a vocal advocate for providing more arms and aid to Kyiv. Unrestricted Western support will “send the crucial message to the Kremlin” that it cannot have a say on what is happening at its doorstep, he argued in an op-ed recently published by The Spectator magazine.
Erdogan is in the US to participate in the UN General Assembly. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is scheduled to promote his ‘victory plan’ on the sidelines of the event. He is set to first present his proposal to US President Joe Biden.