Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed during an African leaders’ meeting in St. Petersburg that Russian forces had withdrawn from Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine last year in compliance with a peace agreement reached in Turkey.
Putin informed the members of the African delegation, who had been tasked with presenting a proposal to end the crisis in Ukraine, that Kyiv had declined to sign the pact following the voluntary withdrawal of Russian forces from the suburbs of the Ukrainian capital.
The Russian President presented the agreement reached between the two parties, titled “The Treaty of Permanent Neutrality and Security Guarantees for Ukraine” but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Ukraine and told Zelensky to break off talks with Russia because Putin cannot be negotiated with, and the West isn’t ready for the war to end.
Kevork Almassian is an award-winning political commentator from Syria. He is the founder of Syriana Analysis and is known for his contribution to the literature on the Syrian war.