MOSCOW: The Kremlin announced on Thursday that it remains open to negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky despite ongoing concerns regarding his legitimacy as a leader.
“Russia is generally open to the negotiation process, but we first need to understand if the Ukrainian side is ready,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“From a practical point of view, we’re open to achieving our goals through negotiations,” Peskov added, referring to the Kremlin’s demands for Ukraine to relinquish four regions partially occupied by Russian troops and abandon its ambitions to join NATO, according to the Moscow Times.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, during a visit to China on Wednesday, stated that Kyiv was prepared to negotiate with Moscow when it demonstrates “good faith.”
“Kuleba stressed that currently there is no such readiness on the Russian side,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Peskov on Thursday also highlighted what he described as the “legal problem” of Zelensky’s presidential mandate, which expired after five years in office this May. Zelensky and Ukraine’s Western allies assert that peacetime political rules do not apply in times of war.
“In addition to the general problem with Zelensky’s legitimacy, there’s also the issue of the actual legal prohibition of any contacts and negotiations with the Russian side,” Peskov said, characterizing the Ukrainian leader as a U.S. puppet.
“So there’s still a lot to be clarified here,” the Kremlin spokesman added, leaving the prospects of Russian-Ukrainian talks uncertain amid international efforts to reach a negotiated ceasefire.
