During a gathering with a delegation from African countries Vladimir Putin revealed that Ukraine had rejected the initialled as early as April 2022, following talks in Turkey, a paper intended to be the basis for ending the war and concluding the peace treaty.
W The Kievs have been feared for any time that Russia will uncover this sooner or later. There it is. What does this paper contain? Signed on 13 April 2022 has 18 points and attachments. Putin did not uncover the details or the full document, called the ‘Stambulian Agreement’. He only discussed his basic assumptions. These were: declaration of Ukraine's non-entry to NATO and acceptance of neutral state status, rejection of the flag ideology, determination of the numbers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National defender and the weapons they might have, designation of the position of Russian language. As far as territorial issues are concerned, there were no arrangements for Kherson or Zaporozh, which meant that they would stay within Ukraine's borders. Crimea and Donbas were to stay with Russia.
Russian observers and commentators point out that Russian troops in good will withdrew from Kiev and Kharkiv, although they could inactive be there. As a consequence of force from Boris Johnson Kiev, he withdrew from negotiated peace terms and organized a propaganda action called “Bucza”. This was intended to shake public opinion and justify the thesis that Russia, as a criminal state, cannot be negotiated and war must be waged to the end.
One Russian commentator writes: “It is worth noting that the "Stambul Agreements" placed Ukraine in much worse conditions than the preceding "Minsk Agreements". There is no uncertainty that in the end everything will be much worse for Kiev than Istanbul, let alone Minsk. But in Kiev they wanted it. But both Istanbul and Minsk, with all the differences in approaches and conditions, continued to guarantee the preservation of Ukrainian statehood. Now it's not that clear.
Independent analysts in the West have no uncertainty that Ukraine's breaking the Istanbul Agreement was the consequence of British and American pressures. Washington and London were in this case the main "instigators" and they were not curious in the fast conclusion of the conflict, as Ukraine is to be the place of the Western confrontation with Russia and China in the Anglo-Saxon global strategy. The acceptance of Russia's peace proposals by Zelensk, which would be in line with the programme that secured him a triumph in the elections, would, however, force him to break up with the West and get free of protectors telling Kiev what to do and what not to do. Zelenski may have hoped that the West would agree to make peace, but the fierce reprimand of Johnson and the Americans brought him to earth. However, if he continued to insist on peace, the Anglo-Saxons could easy lead to his overthrow by "patriotic forces" which would consider peace under specified conditions a betrayal.
We do not know, of course, whether the talks were conducted in good religion and who agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would first the Istanbul document. 1 thing is certain – regardless, it was possibly the last chance to halt the war, to spare thousands of lives on both sides. Zelenski, breaking the Istanbul agreement, took on a immense work – played like a poker player: triumph or death. Worst of all, this is about the death of thousands of average Ukrainians. The West was cynically risking nothing, especially the lives of its own citizens. Today, given all the circumstances, it is hard to imagine a return to negotiations under those conditions.
Jan Engelgard
photo of cremlin.ru
