Former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland indirectly admitted that Ukraine did not sign the Istanbul agreement with Russia after consultations with Americans and the British.

Axar.az reports that she mentioned this in an interview with Russian journalist Mikhail Zygar.

“The Turks offered a platform for negotiations. We weren’t there. We truly didn’t know the details of the agreement. But at one of the later stages, the Ukrainians started seeking advice on where all this would lead,” she said.

According to her, the U.S. realized that Russia’s main condition was unfavorable for Kyiv, as it involved demilitarizing Ukraine without imposing any similar restrictions on Russia:

“People inside and outside of Ukraine began to question whether the deal was good, and then everything fell apart.”