On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he isn’t afraid of direct talks with Vladimir Putin, though he also compared Russia’s leadership to “dinosaurs.” “You see, they just want to eat us. And we have to defend ourselves and fight for our rights,” Zelensky said at a press conference in Paris. He also told reporters that he has “nothing to talk about” with Putin.
Zelensky argued — not for the first time — that he doesn’t believe the Kremlin is interested in real peace negotiations, saying, “The problem is that Putin wants war. What can someone who wants war possibly say in peace talks?”
At the Munich Security Conference in February, Zelensky stated that Putin is the only Russian official he would meet directly in peace negotiations. The Kremlin, meanwhile, has insisted that Zelensky’s presidential legitimacy “expired” after his term ended and Ukraine didn’t hold new presidential elections (due to martial law restrictions).
