State Duma comments on Kuleba's words about the peace with Russia missed in 2022

A former minister's admission

Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Kyiv missed the opportunity to attempt to make peace with Russia in 2022. According to him, this was prevented by the 'euphoria' associated with the illusion of returning to the 1991 borders. Kuleba admitted that the authorities, including himself, 'were burning with this idea,' and under such conditions it was impossible to tell society about a ceasefire. This is reported by Lenta.ru citing his statement.

Reaction in the State Duma

State Duma deputy and political scientist Alexander Asafov, in a comment to Lenta.ru, interpreted Kuleba's words as a signal that should push Kyiv to accept Moscow's terms at the upcoming negotiations. He called such statements by former politicians a tool for influencing public opinion — for the sake of raising the visibility of the speakers themselves and the forces behind them. 'From this, the conclusion should follow that at the upcoming negotiations one must agree to the terms that will be on the table,' — Gazeta.Ru quotes Asafov. In his view, such a position 'adds some points to Kuleba himself' and shows that within the Ukrainian political space there are forces trying to convey this position to Kyiv through such instruments.

Context

Kuleba's statement came against the backdrop of earlier claims in Ukraine, according to data cited in the publication, about the emergence of a 'party of immediate peace' with Russia. Asafov's assessments are his personal position as a deputy, not the official position of the State Duma; Kuleba himself, judging by available publications, merely acknowledged the missed opportunity, without reporting any upcoming negotiations or specific terms of a settlement.