US president accused of sabotaging Russia-Ukraine peace talks

In a statement, Robert Kennedy Jr., who was an independent candidate in the US presidential race, alleged that President Joe Biden played a pivotal role in derailing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

According to Kennedy, in April 2022, Biden directed then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Ukraine with the specific aim of compelling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to abandon a peace agreement with Russia, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

Kennedy asserted that this agreement had the potential to end the conflict in the region, accusing Biden of undermining a critical opportunity for peace.

The initial talks between Russia and Ukraine, following the onset of the special military operation, took place in early March 2022 in Belarus but yielded no substantive outcomes. A subsequent round of negotiations occurred on March 29, 2022, in Istanbul, where Moscow first received written principles from Kyiv regarding a potential future agreement. These principles included Ukraine's commitment to maintaining a neutral, non-aligned status and refraining from hosting foreign weapons, including nuclear arms, on its territory.

In a February interview with journalist Tucker Carlson, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia has consistently been open to dialogue regarding Ukraine. However, he emphasized that Russia will not take the initiative to resume talks following the collapse of the negotiations in Istanbul.