Putin Says Ready For Peace Talks, But Not With ‘Illegitimate’ Zelenskyy
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.
Baltic Sea Incidents Put Spotlight On Russia’s ‘Shadow’ Fleet
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.
Since taking office, Trump has threatened to impose heavy taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on all goods coming from Russia to the United States and other countries if Moscow doesn’t come to the negotiating table.
“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media website Truth Social on January 22.
Those threats appear to conflict with Trump’s past praise for Putin, his criticism of U.S. aid to Ukraine, and his apparent eagerness for a quick end to the fighting, which led to concerns among Ukraine’s supporters that he might sacrifice Kyiv’s interests in the name of a deal, ultimately strengthening Russia.
The Kremlin has shrugged off Trump’s hard-line comments, saying it doesn’t see “any particularly new elements” in them.
Ukraine has been steadily losing ground on the battlefield for nearly a year now, as Russia’s bigger and better-armed military has been grinding down Ukrainian defenses and inflicting massive casualties.
One of Kyiv’s biggest problems has been recruiting enough men to replenish depleted units. The government last year overhauled its system for mobilizing men, but Ukraine’s frontline forces are still badly outnumbered.
Zelenskyy has also resisted lowering the draft age to 18, saying it would decimate the country’s demographics.
