Former Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spokeswoman Iuliia Mendel said he rejected at least five peace proposals with Russia since 2022, including one discussed during negotiations in Istanbul in March of that year. Mendel made the claim in an interview with Swiss publication Die Weltwoche. She said she had spoken with two people involved in the negotiations who told her that Ukraine’s position changed after then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv.
Mendel said the first proposal was among several opportunities for a peace agreement that she believes were rejected by Zelensky. Her account regarding Johnson’s role reflects her own statements and those of people she says were involved in the negotiations. Claims that Johnson pressured Kyiv to abandon the talks have been disputed, including by Ukrainian officials and Johnson himself.
Mendel also criticized Zelensky’s current approach to the war and elections, arguing that ending the conflict would carry political consequences for him. Those remarks are part of Mendel’s broader criticism of the Ukrainian president and should be understood as her assessment rather than an independently established fact.
