MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Moscow and Kiev did not sign an agreement at the Istanbul talks in 2022 because of London’s influence, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Everybody knows very well that the document was actually initialed and everyone is also well aware, thanks to a statement from the Ukrainian side, of the reason behind Ukraine halting negotiations and not finalizing the document," the Kremlin official told journalists.

"This was direct pressure from London. Mister [David] Arakhamia (head of the pro-presidential Servant of the People faction in the Ukrainian parliament - TASS) talked about this, the rest is speculation," the spokesman stressed, adding "I suggest being guided by primary sources," in a comment on a report by Germany’s Welt on the reasons that purportedly hindered the signing of an agreement following the Istanbul talks.

Situation around agreement

Arakhamia, who led the Ukrainian delegation at the Istanbul talks, said in November 2023 that Kiev’s decision to reject Moscow’s proposal and continue fighting had been made at the insistent urging of then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Last June, Russian President Vladimir Putin told representatives from seven African countries who came to present their peace initiative on Ukraine about an initialed agreement between Moscow and Kiev and showed this document, including 18 provisions and addendums, to the African leaders. Putin then specified that it concerned both the armed forces and other issues, including the number of units of military hardware and personnel.

In his February interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, the Russian leader noted that Moscow had never rejected dialogue on Ukraine but would not take the first step after the Istanbul talks were halted. According to him, the conditions of a settlement, including preserving the situation in its current condition, must be discussed. That said, he noted that "Ukraine in a certain sense is an artificial state created by Stalin," using Hungarian, Polish and Romanian lands, among others. Putin stressed the importance of denazifying the former Soviet republic. According to him, it is a must that Ukraine ceases glorifying those who collaborated with Hitler and an agreement on this was reached in Istanbul.