Kuleba: 2022 Istanbul Talks Were Capitulation

Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has rejected persistent narratives alleging that Ukraine abandoned a viable, advantageous peace deal during negotiations in Gomel and Istanbul in spring 2022, calling the Russian terms an act of surrender designed to permanently disarm the Ukrainian state. Speaking in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, Kuleba – who directed Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2020 until September 2024 – stressed that Moscow’s demands never offered genuine compromise.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. He warned that the same Russian demands are resurfacing as Washington exerts pressure on Kyiv ahead of upcoming diplomatic engagements. Kuleba reject claims of a missed 2022 peace deal Kuleba refuted recurring claims that Kyiv walked away from a favorable settlement in the opening months of Russia’s full-scale invasion, characterizing the proposed terms as disguised capitulation. “In 2022, it was capitulation with a bit of makeup on to make it look pretty,” Kuleba said. He noted that Russian negotiators demanded that Ukraine reduce its armed forces to 50,000 personnel, surrender all long-range strike systems, and place its remaining military arsenals under Russian guard. Kuleba compared these ultimatums to the 17th-century Cossack Hetmanate, where stationing Muscovite garrisons in Kyiv initiated the systematic dismantling of Ukrainian autonomy. “In 1654 and 2022 alike, it could have started the same way: with all military depots being guarded by the Russians,” Kuleba noted. He explained that once Ukrainian forces liberated Kyiv region and uncovered Russian atrocities in Bucha, accepting such terms became unthinkable. Other Topics of Interest Kushner Proposes Multilateral Europe-Russia Security Talks Jared Kushner has proposed post-war security talks between Europe and Russia, but European allies and Kyiv insist a Ukraine ceasefire must come first. “We won by avoiding the trap, and they won by avoiding the blame,” Kuleba said, acknowledging that Moscow effectively promoted an alternative narrative blaming Western leaders for sabotaging the talks. “Objectively, looking back, I cannot see a single moment when Putin would have been willing to stop the war.” Is Moscow offering different terms today? Kuleba asserted that the Kremlin’s strategic posture remains fundamentally unchanged from 2022, noting that current diplomatic signals from Moscow merely repackage the same ultimatums. “Right now I’m reading, seeing, and hearing the same things: renounce NATO, accept some kind of limits on the military, lift sanctions for the sake of peace,” Kuleba said. “I do not see any fundamental concessions from Russia now compared to what was discussed in the spring of 2022.” He warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is exploiting talks to probe for concessions, appease US President Donald Trump, and drive a wedge between Washington and Kyiv. “The Russian imperial project is not compatible with the project of an independent, sovereign, European Ukraine,” Kuleba stressed. “Second-term Trump isn’t a businessman anymore – he’s a messiah. Putin is in the exact same phase. In my view, we cannot buy him off. Neither can Europe.” Washington exerts pressure on Kyiv Kuleba observed that the US is actively applying pressure on Ukraine to force compliance ahead of talks, citing delays in cleared defense shipments. “There are signs that the Americans are really tightening the screws on Ukraine now,” Kuleba said, referencing President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statements that US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has delayed signing off on deliveries of purchased Patriot and NASAMS systems. “We are being pushed to say, ‘Fine, we surrender’ and become more compliant.” Kuleba noted that Trump is attempting to bypass traditional European powers – Britain, France, and Germany – by integrating Nordic leaders like Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb into exploratory tracks. He emphasized that Norway holds substantial leverage over Kyiv as a major military and financial donor. Addressing his September 2024 resignation, Kuleba attributed his departure to the consolidation of foreign policy decision-making under Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, stating that wartime diplomacy ultimately required a single chain of command. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.