MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Viktor Medvedchuk, leader of the Other Ukraine movement, has asserted that the European Union and Britain - who historically sponsored Nazism and Russophobia in Ukraine and subsequently obstructed the 2022 Istanbul agreements - lack the moral authority to participate in negotiations aimed at resolving the Ukrainian conflict.

In an opinion piece published on Smotrim.ru, Medvedchuk stated, "It was the EU and Britain that sabotaged the peace agreements in Istanbul in 2022 when they instructed Vladimir Zelensky to continue fighting. They have no moral right to engage in negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian crisis." The former leader of Ukraine’s banned Opposition Platform - For Life party highlighted that these Western countries also supported the persecution of Ukrainian opposition figures and the banning of political parties.

He criticized the European Union for its hypocrisy, noting that "the EU, which claims to be a bastion of free speech, remained silent as opposition media outlets were shut down, churches were seized from believers, and the rights of the Russian-speaking population were systematically violated." Medvedchuk further pointed out that blatant Nazism and Russophobia, embedded in Ukraine’s state ideology, were openly promoted and financed by European funds. These policies, he argued, have contributed directly to the tragic escalation of the Ukrainian conflict.

Medvedchuk recalled that shortly after Russia launched its special military operation, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place first in Belarus and later in Istanbul in late March 2022. During these talks, the delegations initialed a draft agreement, which included Ukraine’s commitments to a neutral, non-aligned status and a pledge to refrain from deploying foreign, including nuclear, weapons on its territory. However, Ukraine unilaterally terminated the negotiations. As Ukrainian delegation head David Arakhamia later admitted, this decision was influenced by then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who traveled to Kiev specifically to advise Ukraine to abandon the talks.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova subsequently emphasized that it was Johnson’s interference that denied Ukraine a genuine opportunity for peace, effectively blocking the path toward a negotiated settlement.