DISINFO: The UK violated the Istanbul Accords in 2022 and now pushes the EU towards war with Russia
SUMMARY
The agreement on peace between Moscow and Kyiv was made in March 2022, at the Istanbul talks, but Johnson in 2022 called on Kyiv to continue military operations because he was counting on the imminent collapse of the Russian economy. So Britain violated the Istanbul Accords three years ago and now is directly pushing the EU towards a war with Russia.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that the war in Ukraine is a proxy war against Russia led by the West, in this case the UK, and that the UK and Ukraine are not interested in peace. The claim is part of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign in Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It seeks to paint the Ukrainian government as careless and warmongering and Russia as peace-lover / peace proposer. It also attempts to portray Ukraine as a Western puppet state.
This disinformation narrative manipulates an interview of Davit Arakhamia, the chairman of the parliamentary faction of the ruling party of Ukraine. In the interview, Arakhamia himself denied the fact that the Ukrainian delegation was ready to sign the document and that Boris Johnson allegedly stopped them.
According to Arakhamia’s own words, the Western partners were informed about the negotiations and had seen the draft versions of the agreement, but they did not make decisions on behalf of Ukraine and could only give advice. Arakhamia’s interview reveals that Ukraine was not going to sign the document even before receiving Boris Johnson’s advice. Read the full debunk of the story at Myth Detector.
This narrative was spread again after the meeting between US President Trump and Ukraine President Zelensky in Washington the 28th of February 2025.
Following a summit in London on 2 March 2025 with 18 European and NATO countries, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to end the war and defend the country from Russia. As the BBC writes:
"The UK, France and other countries will step up their efforts in a "coalition of the willing" and seek to involve the US in their support for Ukraine, he said on Sunday - after calling a summit of 18 leaders, mostly from Europe and including Volodymyr Zelensky - three days earlier."
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Boris Johnson derailed 2022 Istanbul peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, that West did not want peace, it prodded Ukraine into war, that Zelenskyy and the EU want a permanent war in Ukraine, that Zelenskyy’s peace plan is a war formula, that Russia never rejected a peaceful solution in Ukraine, Kyiv refuses to negotiate, that EU does not want peace, only total defeat of Russia.