"Why are you in such pig-headed denial over what Kuleba and Arakhamia have said ?"
Are we talking about the same Arakhamia?
April 2 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian negotiator said on Saturday Russia had indicated that draft peace treaty documents were at an advanced enough stage to allow for direct consultations between the two nations' leaders, Interfax Ukraine reported.
The agency quoted David Arakhamia as telling Ukrainian television that Russia accepted Ukraine's overall position with the exception of its stance on Crimea.
David Arakhamia, head of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s party in parliament and a member of Kyiv’s negotiating team, told the Financial Times that the parties were close to agreement on the security guarantees and Ukraine’s EU bid, but urged caution about the prospects for a breakthrough.
“[The Russians] were ready to end the war if we accepted neutrality like Finland once did. And we were ready to make a commitment that we would not join NATO. When we returned from Istanbul, [then-British Prime Minister] Boris Johnson came to Kiev and said: ‘Do not sign anything with them at all; just go to war,’” Arakhamia said.
Moreover, when we returned from Istanbul, Boris Johnson came to Kyiv and said that we would not sign anything with them at all, and let's just fight."
Arakhamia added that Boris Johnson, U.K. prime minister at the time, arrived in Kyiv shortly after the delegation had returned from negotiations and encouraged Ukraine to keep fighting.
When asked why Ukraine did not agree, he replied that for this, firstly, it was necessary to change the Constitution, and secondly, there is no trust in the Russians that they will fulfill it. He also said that Boris Johnson came to Kyiv then and said that he did not want to sign anything with the Russians and "let's just fight."
It should be noted that the media has repeatedly reported that the Ukrainian authorities refused to sign the agreement in the spring of 2022after negotiations with Johnson.And now, as we can see, Arakhamia has actually confirmed this.The war could end in the spring of 2022 - David Arakhamia (strana.today)Did the West deliberately prolong the Ukraine war? | Responsible StatecraftHead of Ukrainian delegation at spring 2022 peace talks reports Russian delegation offered to end war if Ukraine abandoned NATO aspirations, says leaders had ’no trust’ Russia would follow through — MeduzaHead of Ukraine's leading party claims Russia proposed "peace" in exchange for neutrality (yahoo.com)U.S. repeatedly blocked Ukraine peace deals; is it rethinking its strategy yet? – People's World (peoplesworld.org)Ukraine says Russia thinks nations' leaders can consult on draft treaty documents - Interfax | ReutersRussia no longer requesting Ukraine be ‘denazified’ as part of ceasefire talks (ft.com)
