Russian President Vladimir Putin Blames Boris Johnson For Derailing Ukraine Peace Deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for derailing a crucial peace agreement with Ukraine in the spring of 2022 that resulted in the continuation of the war.

The claim was made during an exclusive interview with US anchor Tucker Carlson, where Putin cited interference by Johnson as a pivotal factor in thwarting negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.

Putin said: “We prepared a huge document in Istanbul that was initialled by the head of the Ukrainian delegation. He affixed his signature to some of the provisions, not to all of it. He put his signature and then he himself said, we were ready to sign it and the war would have been over long ago – 18 months ago. However, Prime Minister Johnson came, talked us out of it and we missed that chance.”

The controversy centres around Johnson’s unexpected visit to Kyiv in 2022, which has been highlighted as a turning point in the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

According to statements made November by Ukraine’s chief negotiator David Arahamiya, Johnson’s influence was not subtle. He reportedly urged Ukrainian leaders to reject any form of agreement with Moscow, encapsulating his stance with a resolute directive: “shouldn’t sign anything with them at all – and let’s just fight.”

This version of events starkly contrasts with Johnson’s public denials. In response to the Ukrainian politicians statements, Johnson dismissed the claims in an interview with The Times in January as “total nonsense” and labelled them as “Russian propaganda.”

Johnson defended his actions by saying that he merely “expressed concerns” over the proposed peace deal during a discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He underscored his commitment to supporting Ukraine, promising that Britain would back Kyiv “a thousand per cent.”

“No peace proposals or peace agreement were possible in February or March 2022,” Johnson said. “Russia entered Ukraine solely for the sake of seizing territories, killing citizens and overthrowing a democratic government.”

Returning to Putin’s interview with Carlson, the Russian president was adamant that Johnson was the cause: “We have never refused [peace negotiations]… and the fact that they obeyed the demand or persuasion of Mr Johnson, the former prime minister of Great Britain, seems ridiculous and very sad to me.”

“Because as Mr Arahamiya put it, we could have stopped those hostilities with war a year and a half ago already. But the British persuaded us and we refused this. Where is Mr Johnson now? And the war continues.”

Repeating back Putin’s rhetorical question, Carlson asked where he thought Johnson was now. The Russian president laughed: “Hell knows, I don’t understand it myself.”

Watch above via the Tucker Carlson Network.