“Here it is! It exists!" Russian President Vladimir Putin shows a document at an event in St. Petersburg, June 17, 2023. During a meeting with a group of African leaders in St. Petersburg, Putin showed for the first time the draft documents that were being discussed by the Russian and Ukrainian emissaries in Türkiye more than a year ago. Ukraine agreed to peace a year ago but reneged on its side after the West got involved. This is what Russian President Vladimir Putin alleged when he showed off a peace agreement that was signed by Ukraine last year when peace talks were hosted in Turkey. It was called the Treaty on Permanent Neutrality and Security Guarantees of Ukraine. President Putin said that Russia withdrew troops from Kyiv after this treaty was signed but Ukraine never honored their side of the deal but instead “threw it all into the waste basket of history.” How many lives were thrown into that waste basket along with it? The draft stipulates that Ukraine must enshrine “permanent neutrality” in its Constitution. Russia, the US, Britain, China, and France are listed as guarantors. Speaking on Saturday, Putin said that Ukraine was responsible for sabotaging the negotiations. “After we pulled our troops away from Kiev – as we had promised to do – the Kiev authorities … had tossed [the draft treaty] into the dustbin of history,” he said. “They abandoned everything.” Ukraine dropped all discussions about a possible neutrality last year and has since formally applied to join NATO. Key takeaways from Putin’s meeting with African Leaders on Ukraine conflict https://www.theinteldrop.org/2023/06/18/key-takeaways-from-putins-meeting-with-african-leaders-on-ukraine-conflict/ https://youtu.be/myRW5CV6Rck #Russia #Ukraine #NATO #ProxyWar