UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM RUSSIAN PRESIDENT
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that in the early weeks of the current war, Ukraine and the West rejected agreements reached during peace talks held in Istanbul, seeking instead to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow.
Speaking of the March 2022 talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, Putin said: “We had reached almost all the parameters of a possible peace agreement with government representatives in Kyiv… Yes, there were still some things that needed to be worked out, but in general, the visa (deal) was worth it, it was a document.
“Then Mr. (then-British Prime Minister Boris) Johnson arrived, as is known … and gave the Ukrainians instructions to fight to the last Ukrainian. What is happening today (is) with the goal of achieving a strategic defeat of Russia,” he added, speaking to an economic forum in the port city of Vladivostok.
According to Putin, Ukrainian authorities have publicly admitted that the Russia-Ukraine war would have ended “long ago” if they had implemented what the countries agreed on in Istanbul, when the conflict was barely a month old, instead of the 30 months it has lasted since.
“But they took a different path. Here is the result,” he added.
On whether Russia is ready to negotiate now with Ukraine, Putin said in fact Moscow has never refused to do so.
“But not on the basis of some ephemeral demands, but on the basis of the documents that were agreed upon and actually initialed in Istanbul,” he added.
Russian officials have accused Kyiv numerous times of not signing a draft agreement reached during negotiations in Istanbul due to "direct pressure" from the UK, an allegation that Johnson has denied.
These claims particularly cite remarks from Ukrainian delegation chief Davyd Arakhamia in an interview last November with local media which quoted him as saying that Johnson advised Kyiv against signing any agreements with Russia.
- Situation in Kursk
Putin also commented on the current situation in Russia's border region of Kursk, saying that Ukraine's operation in the region led to the "consolidation of society" in the country rather than achieving its intended purpose.
According to him, these goals were to sow panic in Russia and destabilize the internal political situation in the country.
Calling Russia's defense of the region a "sacred duty," Putin said that Ukraine may soon lose its "combat capability" due to the losses the Ukrainian military has received, which he said is what Moscow is trying to achieve.
Putin went on to say that Ukraine's goal in Kursk was to also distract Moscow from its ongoing offensive in eastern Ukraine.
"The enemy's (Ukraine) goal was to make us nervous, fuss, transfer troops from one area to another and stop our offensive in key areas, primarily in (the) Donbas ... Did it work or not? No, the enemy failed," he said.
He also said that the Russian military "stabilized" the situation in the Kursk region, claiming they began to gradually push Ukrainian troops out of it.
Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on Putin’s claims, and independent verification is difficult due to the ongoing war.
On the night of Aug. 5-6, Kyiv launched an operation into the border region of Kursk, with Ukrainian forces entering the region near the town of Sudzha, about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the border.
Putin accused Kyiv of carrying out a “large-scale provocation” and “indiscriminate shooting,” defining the incursion as a “terrorist attack.”
Days later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitted it was an “operation” by Ukraine’s troops, specifying that the goal is to create a “buffer zone” against cross-border attacks by Russia.