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West derailed Istanbul talks hoping to defeat Russia on battlefield, says Putin

Russian President recalled the trip of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Kiev in the spring of 2022, when Russia and Ukraine were conducting negotiations

MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. Western countries may have derailed the Istanbul agreements between Moscow and Kiev because they counted on Russia's strategic defeat on the battlefield, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin.

He recalled the trip of former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Kiev in the spring of 2022, when Russia and Ukraine were conducting negotiations.

"That’s where he outlined the position that it is necessary to wage war against Russia ‘to the last Ukrainian’, till final victory. And to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Apparently, they were counting on such a result," Putin stated, referring to the failed Istanbul talks.

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Ukraine crisis Foreign policy Ukraine Vladimir Putin Turkey

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