MOSCOW, February 15. /TASS/. The agreements between Moscow and Kiev, reached in Istanbul, could have stopped the conflict in Ukraine long ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin.

Speaking about how the events would have unfolded if the talks in Istanbul had succeeded, the president recalled remarks by David Arakhamia, head of the pro-presidential Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament). Last November, Arakhamia claimed that it was former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who prohibited Kiev from signing peace agreements with Russia following talks in Istanbul in late March 2022 and demanded that Ukraine continue military activities against Russia.

"Mr. Arakhamia said it all on his own free will. We did not make him say that. He said what was on his mind. As to why he said that: I have no idea, but maybe that’s the kind of person he is, a straightforward man. He said that had we fully implemented these agreements, the conflict would have been over some 18 months ago. He did say that," the Russian leader said.