Johnson denied involvement in the breakdown of truce negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine

 Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims his innocence in Ukraine’s refusal to continue negotiations on a truce with Russia in March 2022. He stated this in an interview with The Times newspaper.

Johnson called the Kremlin's accusations of disrupting the negotiations "complete nonsense" and "propaganda." According to him, after the meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul in 2022, during a conversation with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, he only expressed concerns about a possible agreement between Kyiv and Moscow. Johnson claims that he then assured the Ukrainian leader of “one thousand percent” support from Great Britain.

US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. spoke about the British politician’s involvement in the breakdown of negotiations in June 2023 in an interview with NBC5. According to him, this was done on instructions from Washington.

On November 24, on the air of the Ukrainian TV channel “1+1”, the leader of the Servant of the People faction, David Arakhamia, said that the conflict with the Russian Federation could have ended in the spring of 2022, but Johnson, who was then Prime Minister of Great Britain, convinced the Ukrainian leadership to abandon the agreement with Russia and continue fighting. Arakhamia led the Ukrainian delegation at the negotiations in Istanbul in March 2022.

According to the leader of the Servant of the People faction, the opinion of the British politician was not the only factor that influenced Kyiv’s refusal to negotiate. In particular, Ukraine’s aspiration to join  NATO is spelled out in the constitution, and Russia in March 2022 demanded that this goal be abandoned. In addition, “there was and is no faith” that the Russian Federation will fulfill its part of the deal and stop hostilities, Arakhamia added.