Putin Says Ready For Peace Talks, But Not With 'Illegitimate' Zelenskyy
According to RFE/RL, Russian President Vladimir Putin has again ruled out direct peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he called "illegitimate," prompting the Ukrainian leader to accuse Putin of being "afraid" of negotiating a settlement to the almost 3-year-old war.
"You can negotiate with anyone, but because of his illegitimacy, he [Zelenskyy] has no right to sign anything," Putin told state Rossiya 1 TV late on January 28.
He added that he would "allocate people to take part" in negotiations if Zelenskyy would be present instead of holding direct talks face-to-face.
Putin has said several times he does not consider Zelenskyy a legitimate leader since Zelenskyy's five-year term in office was supposed to end last year on May 20.
An election was to have taken place on March 31, 2024, but was postponed because the country is still under martial law due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy, who under the constitution must continue to perform his duties until a new head of state is elected, responded to Putin's claim saying it is the Russian leader who is the obstacle to talks to end the fighting.
"Today, Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war," Zelenskyy wrote in a post on social media.
"Now we see that there is a possibility of achieving real peace, but it is Putin who is doing everything to either continue killing on a full scale instead of peace, or to get a pause in order to prepare a new full-scale invasion in the future, delivering hybrid strikes."
Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and would have to amend the law in order to hold elections during a state of war.
Zelenskyy has been looking to the United States to put pressure on Moscow to end Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine amid reports that behind-the-scenes negotiations to resolve the conflict have been ramping up following the January 20 inauguration of President Donald Trump.
