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‘Doing everything he can to drag out the war’ Zelensky slams Putin’s claim that he’s open to talks but that Ukrainian president can’t sign peace deal

Source: Meduza
Mikhail Metzel / TASS / Profimedia

Putin’s statement

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow is open to negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky but does not consider him a legitimate leader capable of signing a final peace agreement.

“You can negotiate with anyone, but given his illegitimacy, [Zelensky] has no right to sign anything. If he wants to take part in talks, I will appoint people to conduct them,” Putin told Pavel Zarubin, a correspondent for the Russian state-owned broadcaster VGTRK.

He added that before negotiations can begin, Zelensky’s 2022 decree prohibiting talks with Russian authorities must be revoked. In Putin’s view, the Ukrainian president himself cannot do this because he is illegitimate — but the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada can.

Putin also reiterated his claim that if Kyiv’s Western “sponsors” truly wanted the war to end, they could pressure Ukraine and “resolve the legal issues.”

Additionally, he asserted that in the spring of 2022, he decided to withdraw Russian troops from Kyiv at the request of “certain European leaders,” who told him Ukraine could not sign a peace deal “with a gun to his head.” However, according to Putin, Russia was “deceived,” and Western leaders ultimately “convinced the Ukrainians to keep fighting” instead of agreeing to a settlement.

Zelensky’s response

Early on Wednesday morning, Zelensky responded to Putin’s claim that he has no authority to sign a final peace agreement, writing on social media:

Today, Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and is doing everything he can to drag out the war. Every step he takes and all his cynical maneuvers are aimed at making the war endless.

Zelensky noted that there is now “a real opportunity to achieve peace,” but Putin is doing everything possible “either to continue the large-scale killing or to secure a pause so he can prepare for a new full-scale invasion through hybrid attacks.”

Zelensky called on world leaders to “force” Russia to make peace:

World leaders should learn from the mistakes of past years and those who have already left the stage. Putin has significant means to destroy peace but too small and cowardly a heart to withstand real pressure from strong leaders. That is why we must act together decisively — everyone who has the courage to believe in peace and bring it closer through strength. Real peace is possible if Russia is forced into it.

More on Russia’s claim that Zelensky is ‘illegitimate’

‘Now is not the time’ Zelensky’s term should have ended on May 20. Here’s how Ukrainians feel about him staying in power without an election.

More on Russia’s claim that Zelensky is ‘illegitimate’

‘Now is not the time’ Zelensky’s term should have ended on May 20. Here’s how Ukrainians feel about him staying in power without an election.

Zelensky signed a decree ruling out negotiations with Putin in October 2022, shortly after Russia announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions. On January 26, 2025, Zelensky said that his decree prohibited negotiations for everyone except himself. “I am the president of Ukraine, I lead any negotiations, and I have forbidden everyone else,” he said.

Zelensky’s five-year presidential term was set to end in May 2024, and Russian propaganda and officials have been claiming since then that he is “illegitimate”; however, Ukrainian law prohibits elections under martial law, and Russia’s ongoing invasion and occupation would make a fair presidential vote logistically impossible.

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