Another of Ukraine’s peace negotiators in March-April 2022 has supplemented what the leader of the delegation, MP David Arakhamia, admitted in late November, that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has advised Ukraine to turn down the peace agreement and “just continue fighting.” On Dec. 5, Oleksandr Chalyi, Ukraine’s former First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, addressed a panel interview with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, where he reported, according to Ivan Katchanovski, that Russian President Putin was instrumental in making concessions on Russia’s part and pushing for a peaceful conclusion. Chalyi, part of Ukraine’s negotiation team, spoke to the GCSP in English, saying:
“We, as you remember, concluded the so-called Istanbul Communiqué. And we were very close in the middle of April, at the end of April, to finalize our war with some peaceful settlement. For some reasons, it was postponed. But to my mind, Putin (this is my personal view), Putin in one week, after starting his aggression in 24 February last year, very quickly understood he did mistake and tried to do everything possible to conclude agreement with Ukraine. And Istanbul communiqué, it was his personal decision to accept the text of this communiqué, which totally far away from the initial proposal of Russia—ultimatum proposal of Russia—which they put before the Ukrainian delegation in Minsk. So, we managed to find a very real compromise. So, Putin really wanted to reach some peaceful settlement in Ukraine. It is very important to remember that.”
