Putin: I am ready to meet with Zelensky, but…

The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, made important statements about possible negotiations with Ukraine during a conversation with heads of international news agencies at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. According to him, the Russian side is ready to meet with everyone, including Volodymyr Zelensky, but the main issue is not with whom, but whose signature will have legal force, he said.

Putin emphasized that if someone in Ukraine is recognized as having the authority to negotiate, it could be Zelensky. However, for reaching serious agreements, it is not propaganda but the legal basis that is decisive. According to him, under the Constitution of Ukraine, the president is elected for a term of five years, and even under martial law, there is no provision for extending presidential powers. He added that only the parliament — the Verkhovna Rada — can continue its activities during martial law.

The Russian leader stated: “If the current president is considered illegitimate in constitutional terms, then the entire system of power is also illegal. This allows for any agreement to be canceled by a subsequent leader. Since we are discussing historically and geopolitically important issues, we cannot allow such risks.”

Putin also said that for the Russian side, who exactly the negotiations are conducted with is a secondary issue. “It doesn’t matter — whether it’s the head of the current regime or not — if he does not have official and legal authority, then no agreement will be guaranteed,” he said.

At the same time, the Russian president noted that a meeting could take place. However, he stressed it should not be “let’s just meet for the sake of meeting,” but rather at the final stage of the process, when the signing is carried out with persons officially recognized from a legal point of view. Otherwise, he said, the agreements “will just fill up the trash bin.”

Volodymyr Zelensky recently proposed holding trilateral negotiations with Putin and US President Donald Trump. According to him, he is ready for dialogue in any format and does not set any preconditions.

Thus, legal and diplomatic preparations for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which could become one of the most important stages on the world political stage, are becoming increasingly significant. From Putin’s words, it is clear that Moscow continues to consider legal force and security guarantees as the main conditions for serious agreements. Read 'Zamin' on Telegram!