“Certain lobbies” sabotaged the draft peace deal agreed in the early months of the conflict, the Turkish president has said

Talks in Istanbul to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022 did not achieve their goal because certain interests were opposed to a peace deal, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revealed.

Erdogan addressed those negotiations between Moscow and Kiev on Monday during a press conference at the Turkish House in New York, as he was highlighting Ankara’s positive role as an intermediary in various conflicts.

“We have made efforts to establish a just peace since the beginning of the [Ukraine-Russia] war, and we continue to do so,” he said, as quoted by Anadolu news agency.

“The negotiations in Istanbul have proven the success of Türkiye’s active role. However, certain lobbies did not want these efforts to achieve their goal,”Erdogan added.

The 2022 negotiations between Kiev and Moscow to resolve their differences culminated in a draft treaty. If implemented, Ukraine would have agreed to become a neutral nation with a limited army in exchange for international security guarantees.

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Shortly after the document was signed by heads of the respective delegations, Kiev made a U-turn and declared military victory over Moscow as its only option in the conflict.

The policy change was prompted by a visit to Kiev by then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a Russia hawk, who told the Ukrainians to keep fighting, according to Ukrainian MP David Arakhamia, who signed the draft treaty on Kiev’s behalf.

Moscow believes that Johnson ordered Ukraine not to compromise, since the West is interested in inflicting maximum damage on Russia regardless of the cost paid for it by the Ukrainian people. Johnson has claimed he simply advised Kiev not to trust the Kremlin and that his words did not amount to an instruction.

Having left his position in September 2022 following a wave of domestic scandals, Johnson remains a vocal advocate for pumping more arms and aid into Kiev. Unrestricted Western support will “send the crucial message to the Kremlin” that it cannot have a say on what is happening at its doorstep, he argued in an op-ed just published by The Spectator magazine.

READ MORE: ‘It’s over for Russia’ – ex-UK PM

Erdogan is visiting the US to take part in the UN General Assembly. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is set to promote his ‘victory plan’ on the sidelines of the event. He is scheduled to first present his proposal to US President Joe Biden.