Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has accused former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of derailing a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine early in the conflict.

Babis stated that Johnson, who served as the United Kingdom’s prime minister prior to his current role, is widely regarded as one of the key figures behind the ongoing hostilities and played a critical part in torpedoing the first round of negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul in March 2022.

According to former Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia and multiple independent reports, Johnson reportedly instructed Ukrainian leadership at the time to abandon discussions with Russia and instead “just fight.”

Russia has accused Johnson of undermining the peace process, though he has denied these allegations.

In a recent interview, Babis reiterated his claims, noting that Ukraine and Russia were close to finalizing a peace deal in April 2022 before Johnson’s intervention. “The agreement was actually already closed in April 2022, but then Boris Johnson appeared… there was an interest in this conflict going on,” he said.

Babis also commented on ongoing U.S.-mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, suggesting they could yield a “long-term solution” for ending the war and establishing stable security guarantees for Ukraine. However, he added that Europe cannot achieve such outcomes without Donald Trump’s involvement.

This year, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States have held two rounds of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, with additional discussions occurring through various formats. These negotiations took place behind closed doors, but both Moscow and Washington described them as “constructive” and “productive.” The most recent round resulted in the exchange of 314 prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine.