The Ukrainian leader’s status could potentially be an obstacle for future peace talks, spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s dubious status could pose a problem when Moscow and Kiev eventually agree to hold peace talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy, noting that his term in office has formally expired.
“Our president has repeatedly said that president Zelensky definitely lost his legitimacy,” Peskov told journalists.
Another issue that “could seriously hinder the peace process” is Zelensky’s 2022 decree that “banned any Ukrainian head of state from engaging in talks with president Putin,” Peskov said.
Zelensky’s presidential term formally expired on May 20. He refused to hold an election in March, citing martial law imposed due to the conflict with Russia. He argued that his mandate has been de facto extended in accordance with Ukrainian law.
Putin stated several times in recent months that analysis of the Ukrainian constitution and other legislation leaves no room for an interpretation that would allow Zelensky to stay in power.
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Citing Article 111 of the Ukrainian constitution, Putin argued in May that Zelensky’s powers should have been transferred to the speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada.
Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, however, has insisted that Zelensky is the legitimate head of state and argued that whoever questions his legitimacy is “an enemy.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told journalists that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba made it clear during his trip to Beijing that he was “ready and willing” to hold peace talks with Moscow. Moscow has responded by saying that it would wait for the details on the Ukrainian position. “We have not heard such statements from Kuleba himself,” Peskov said on Wednesday, adding that negotiations are “more preferable” to the continued hostilities.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine broke down in the spring of 2022, with both sides accusing each other of making unrealistic demands.
