MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. In 2022, after consultations with former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and representatives of the United States, Ukraine said "foreign partners are against signing the agreement" with Russia, head of the Russian delegation at the talks with Ukraine, Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky said.
"After that (Kiev's consultations with the West - TASS) we were told: "Our foreign partners are against conclusion of the agreement." Which we have already agreed on," Medinsky, who also headed the Russian delegation in 2022, told RT in an interview.
"Our foreign partners do not support the signing of the agreement. And in this case, they will not guarantee us help and safety if we sign the deal. This is why we will fight with you until you defeat us or we defeat you."
Since the beginning of the special military operation, Russia and Ukraine have been negotiating - first in Belarus, and at the end of March 2022 in Istanbul. By this time, the delegations had initialed a draft agreement, which included, in particular, Ukraine's obligations on a neutral, non-aligned status and the refusal to deploy foreign weapons on its territory, including nuclear weapons. However, the negotiations were unilaterally interrupted by Ukraine. Head of the Ukrainian delegation David Arakhamia later said this happened at the suggestion of Johnson, who arrived in Kiev specially for the purpose.