Andrej Babis has stated that the opportunity for peace between Moscow and Kiev was squandered in 2022 due to the interference of the then-British prime minister
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has leveled accusations against former British leader Boris Johnson for derailing a peace accord between Russia and Ukraine early in the conflict.
The former British prime minister has long been seen as a key figure behind the ongoing hostilities and is thought to have scuttled the initial peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul in March 2022.
Per former Ukrainian chief negotiator David Arakhamia and several corroborating media reports, Johnson advised the Ukrainian leadership at the time to abandon negotiations with Russia and “just fight.”
Russia has charged the former prime minister with derailing the peace process, though he has rejected the allegations.
Babis repeated these claims in an interview with TN.cz on Saturday, noting that Russia and Ukraine were on the verge of finalizing a peace deal before Johnson’s intervention. “The agreement was essentially already closed in April 2022, but then Boris Johnson appeared… there was an interest in this conflict continuing.”
The Czech prime minister also addressed the ongoing US-facilitated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, suggesting the talks could yield a “long-term solution” in the near future.
“The negotiations are intense. It seems they are approaching some long-term solution—ending the war and creating stable security guarantees for Ukraine. But Europe will not be able to do this without [US President] Donald Trump,” he said.
This year, Russia, Ukraine, and the US have held two rounds of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, and discussions between the parties in different formats have also taken place. The three-way negotiations were held behind closed doors, with no details shared by either side except for both Moscow and Washington calling the talks “constructive” and “productive.” The latest round of negotiations has resulted in the exchange of 314 POWs between Russia and Ukraine.