DISINFO: US and Boris Johnson forced Ukraine not to sign the peace deal in Istanbul
SUMMARY
Back in March 2022 US and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson forced Ukraine not to sign the peace deal in Istanbul with Russia which implied a small territorial loss compared to the territories controlled by Ukraine in 1991.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Ukraine and its allies 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. This element seeks to obfuscate the topics of peace initiatives. It also attempts to portray Ukraine as a Western puppet state and the invasion of Ukraine as a proxy war against Russia.
There is no evidence to claim that the US or the UK prohibited Ukraine to sign a settlement agreement with Russia in 2022. This disinformation narrative represents a manipulation of 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, then UK Prime Minister, allegedly stopped them. Read the full debunk of the story at Myth Detector.
Putin and the Kremlin have a track record of pretending peace negotiations which are, in fact, just blunt demands for Ukrainian unconditional surrender. We have analysed this disinfo tactic in several articles, especially: "Prepare for winter" (30 Nov. 2023), "Russian so-called ‘peace proposals’ are empty PR stunts" (18 Jan. 2023) , "What He Said and What it Really Means – Vol. 2: “Negotiations” (1. March 2022) and "The Kremlin security demands" (21 Dec. 2021).
The timing of this renewed claim coincides with international pressure on Moscow to engage in real peace negotiations, incl meetings during the 79th UN General Assembly.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that US, Western partners responsible for failure of March 2022 Istanbul peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, that Boris Johnson and other Western leaders sabotaged the peace deal for Ukraine in March 2022, that Zelenskyy’s peace plan is a war formula, that Boris Johnson prohibited Kyiv from signing an agreement with Russia in 2022, that Boris Johnson derailed 2022 Istanbul peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, that Ukraine staged Bucha massacre to derail peace talks with Russia, that Ukrainian negotiator admited the war could have ended in 2022, that West did not want peace, it prodded Ukraine into war, that Zelenskyy and the EU want a permanent war in Ukraine.