Lavrov Discloses For First Time Partial Terms of Istanbul Deal With Ukraine

The security guarantees outlined in the Istanbul agreements for resolving the conflict in Ukraine were utterly serious, nearly on par with Article 5 of the Washington Treaty (also known as the North Atlantic Treaty).

However, Kiev decided at the last moment to make "minor" amendments to the section dedicated to military exercises with foreign participation, which became an indicator that someone might have prohibited the negotiations, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"Ultimately, we were ready to accommodate the Ukrainian delegation's aspiration that these guarantees were to be extremely serious. The fifth article of the Washington Treaty, which pertains to the establishment of NATO, was considered the limit of seriousness," Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik, Govorit Moskva, and Komsomolskaya Pravda.

He mentioned that the intention was not to reproduce it word for word, but the assurances given were still "serious." "It was specifically stated that these security guarantees did not extend to Crimea and Donbass, which basically meant that they could not be touched," the top diplomat emphasized.

❗️For the first time Lavrov revealed some of the points of the Istanbul agreement with Ukraine.

According to one of them, the fifth article of NATO was applied to Ukraine, but without extending it to Crimea and Donbass. If these territories were attacked, the agreements should… pic.twitter.com/NmnORxJcZd

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) April 19, 2024

Lavrov added that the agreements envisaged not deploying any military bases of other states in Ukraine. "It was said that there would be no military maneuvers, exercises of armed forces with the participation of third countries in Ukraine, except in cases when all guarantor countries agree: including us, including China," the foreign minister noted.

However, Lavrov pointed out that after the main process of coordinating the agreements was completed, the Ukrainian side decided to make "minor" amendments.

"For example: 'the prohibition of military exercises involving armed forces of third countries' except if all guarantors agree,' let's replace it with 'except in cases when the majority of guarantors agree.' That's all. It was such a signal that either they were already prohibited overnight, or someone said, 'Let's mess with these Russians some more,'" the minister noted.

In late November, David Arakhamia, the leader of Zelensky's faction in the Verkhovna Rada and a member of the committee on national security, defense, and intelligence, stated that the military conflict in Ukraine could have ended in the spring of 2022. However, he noted that the Ukrainian authorities rejected the option of neutrality for the country. Following negotiations with Russia in Istanbul, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, urged Kiev to avoid signing any agreements with Russia and instead focus on continuing the fight.

In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that negotiations with Ukraine in 2022 were nearly finalized. However, he claimed that after Russian troops had withdrawn from Kiev, the Ukrainian side disregarded all agreements and Zelensky went as far as prohibiting negotiations with Russia through a legislative decree. Putin emphasized that Moscow has never rejected negotiations, a point he also reiterated in an interview with Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin. In this interview, he expressed uncertainty on whether the West wants a peaceful resolution to the Ukrainian conflict but reassured that Russia remains open to dialogue if such a resolution is desired.

Recalling meetings in Belarus and Istanbul, negotiations are always the preferred option, Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik, Komsomolskaya Pravda and Govorit Moskva.

"As [Russian] President [Vladimir Putin] constantly reminds us, we always prefer negotiations to fights… pic.twitter.com/3Ztx6Cxdmr

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) April 19, 2024