At the beginning of the invasion, Vladimir Putin rejected a peace agreement with Ukraine

Vladimir Putin's chief negotiator in Ukraine,

, told the Russian president

that he had struck a

that would satisfy Russian demand that

.

Putin however

.

This was reported exclusively by the British news agency

citing three sources close to the Kremlin.

Putin had repeatedly said before February 24 that NATO and its military structure were dangerously approaching Russian borders, accepting the entry of members from Eastern Europe, and that the alliance was preparing to bring Ukraine into its own. orbit.

He publicly stated that this would pose an

to Russia, forcing it to react. 

When Kozak's draft agreement arrived on his table, according to

sources , the Russian president said however that the concessions negotiated by the envoy were not enough, and that he had

to include

.

So the deal

.

Kremlin spokesman

denied this reconstruction: “It has no bearing on reality.

Nothing like that happened.

It is completely incorrect information ”.

Kozak did not respond to the British agency's request for an interview.

The adviser to the Ukrainian presidency

did not confirm the existence of this preliminary agreement, merely saying that "today it is clear that on the Russian side there has never been an interest in a peace agreement".

EPA / ALEXEI NIKOLSKY / KREMLIN POOL / SPUTNIK

Vladimir Putin listens to Dmitry Kozak during the Security Council on February 21, 2022

Kozak was also one of those present at

Kremlin three days before the invasion.

Once the cameras were released from the large hall with neoclassical columns and domed ceiling, Kozak would have said he was against Russia taking any measures that could precipitate the situation with Ukraine, the sources heard by the

Today Kozak retains the post of deputy chief of staff of the Kremlin, but he is no longer the one to manage the Ukraine dossier: "

," says a source.