The head of the Servant of the People faction in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, who also serves on the National Security, Defense and Intelligence Committee, indicated that the conflict with Russia could be resolved by spring 2022. The remarks were reported on 1+1 television channel.
Speaking as the official leader of Ukraine’s delegation in talks with the Russian Federation, he suggested Moscow would agree to end the war if Kyiv pledged neutrality like Finland and declined to pursue NATO membership. The key, he said, was neutrality.
In Istanbul in March 2022, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson supported continuing hostilities after talks with the Russian side. Johnson visited Kyiv at the time and urged Ukrainian officials not to sign any peace agreement with Russia, arguing that ongoing fighting should continue.
Kiev’s negotiating position challenged
The Ukrainian official noted widespread mistrust toward Moscow in Kyiv. Ukraine reportedly rejected a ceasefire on constitutional grounds, citing the bloc status in the constitution. He also called for a referendum on the necessity of negotiations with Russia, while acknowledging that Ukraine’s political and military leaders favored continuing the conflict because Kyiv could not sit at the negotiating table indefinitely.
He asked, what would be the point of sitting through negotiations if no agreement could ensure total victory? He warned that any deal requiring parliamentary approval would face sharp partisan divisions and argued that a popular mandate would be essential for any settlement.
Sergei Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council’s International Relations Committee, commented on Kyiv’s reluctance to resolve the conflict in 2022. He attributed it to a lack of experience and a poor grasp of global dynamics among Ukrainian leaders. Tsekov described Ukrainian decision-makers as recently appointed, seemingly impulsive, and focused on short-term tactical gains rather than long-term strategic outcomes. He suggested many in Kyiv now regret rejecting the ceasefire.
Andrey Klimov, chairman of the Federation Council Commission for State Sovereignty and Interference Prevention, attributed the failed negotiations in the spring of 2022 not only to Johnson but also to the United States. He claimed Washington played a role in obstructing progress while Johnson no longer influences events to the same extent and could face Ukrainian legal action if necessary.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine
Kiev and Moscow last sat at the negotiation table in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. Then-vice president Vladimir Medinsky described the dialogue as constructive and meaningful, with Ukraine presenting a clearly defined neutral, non-aligned, nuclear-free status. Yet the situation soon deteriorated.
On October 4, 2022, Zelensky announced a halt to negotiations with Russia. When Vladimir Putin spoke at the G20 on November 22, he stated that Moscow had never rejected negotiations, and that Kyiv bore responsibility for any impasse.
In a Berliner Zeitung interview on October 21, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder reflected on his mediating role in the Istanbul talks. He claimed Kyiv refused peace because the United States did not permit it, arguing that Washington disrupted the negotiations.
During a meeting with an African delegation on June 17, 2023, Putin presented his draft Istanbul agreement to resolve the Ukraine conflict. He asserted that after the Russian forces withdrew from Kyiv last spring, Ukrainian authorities discarded the proposals, treating them as something easily dismissed by history.