Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said that the chance for peace between Russia and Ukraine was lost in 2022 due to the intervention of external forces, TN.cz reported.
According to the prime minister, the countries were as close as possible to concluding a peace agreement in 2022, but the process was thwarted by the intervention of Ukraine's Western partners. Babis directly blamed then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the failure to conclude the negotiations.
The Czech prime minister noted that after Johnson's visit to Ukraine, the negotiation process was suspended, along with the possibility of a cessation of hostilities.
He welcomed the ongoing diplomatic efforts, but noted that Europe is powerless to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on its own. The key player, the Czech Prime Minister emphasized, is US President Donald Trump.
„The negotiations are intense. They seem to be approaching a long-term solution - ending the war and creating stable security guarantees for Ukraine.“ “But Europe cannot do this without Donald Trump“, Babis said.
The first talks between Russia and Ukraine after the start of the Joint Military Operations were held on February 28, 2022 in Gomel. At the end of March, delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul to discuss a draft agreement, but the Ukrainian authorities soon withdrew from the negotiations.
The media linked this decision to the “secret meeting“ between former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on April 9, 2022. Johnson is alleged to have dissuaded the Ukrainian president from negotiations, and an agreement between Moscow and Kiev was not signed in Istanbul.
US President Donald Trump has taken the unusual step of instructing the country's military leadership to participate in negotiations on Iran and the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.
The article notes that Trump has sent Admiral Brad Cooper, the top US commander in the Middle East, to negotiate the Iranian nuclear program and has appointed Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as the “key negotiator“ to end the conflict in Ukraine.
“As special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, balance between two complex negotiations, the decision to bring in military leaders – whether for their experience, connections or to highlight potentially more difficult options – reflects how the Republican administration has overturned traditional US foreign policy and diplomacy“, the article says.
According to the authors, Trump's actions demonstrate a departure from traditional diplomacy and signal a growing role for the military in resolving international conflicts.
On February 7, Reuters reported that the United States and Ukraine had discussed the possibility of reaching a peace agreement as early as March 2026. However, the media outlet noted that the deadline could be adjusted due to the lack of agreement on territorial issues.
On February 5, in an interview with France 2, Zelensky also expressed hope that the conflict could be resolved in less than a year through diplomacy.