Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that his country could take part in peace talks with Ukraine, but ruled out speaking directly to President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he described as ‘illegitimate’.
The Ukrainian leader responded by saying that Mr Putin was ‘afraid’ of negotiations and was using ‘cynical tricks’ to prolong the conflict that has lasted for almost three years.
US President Donald Trump has put pressure on both sides to end the fighting since taking office on January 20, threatening to tighten sanctions against Russia while claiming that Mr Zelensky was ready to negotiate a ‘deal’.
In an interview on state television, Mr Putin said that the fighting would stop in less than ‘two months’ if Western aid to Kiev ran out, which Ukraine fears will happen.
The idea of negotiations between Moscow and Kiev has been raised more and more often in recent months by both parties and their respective allies, but there is no indication at present that it will materialise.
The return to the White House of Donald Trump, who has proclaimed his intention to put an end to the conflict quickly, has nevertheless revived these discussions, with Ukraine fearing that he will drastically reduce its aid.
If Mr Zelensky ‘wants to take part in negotiations, I will choose people who will lead these negotiations’, Mr Putin said on Tuesday, suggesting that he would not take part himself in this scenario.
Mr Zelensky is ‘illegitimate’, he insisted, repeating language hammered home by the Russian authorities.
Mr Zelensky's mandate has expired, but Ukrainian law prohibits the holding of any elections as long as martial law, in place since the start of the Russian offensive in February 2022, remains in force.
The Russian president added that any negotiations would also be ‘illegitimate’ if they were held now, citing a decree issued by Mr Zelensky in October 2022 ruling out any negotiations as long as Mr Putin was in power.
The master of the Kremlin nevertheless felt that it would still be possible to find ‘a legal way’ to hold talks if Kiev so wished.
‘For the time being, we see no such desire’, he said.
He nevertheless asserted that the conflict would end very quickly without Western help.
‘They won't last a month if the money and, in general, the ammunition runs out. It would all be over in a month and a half or two months’, he said.
Mr Putin had said last week that he was ready for ‘negotiations on Ukrainian issues’ with Mr Trump.
The two leaders said they were ready to talk about Ukraine in particular, but no date has yet been set.
A conversation between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which has long been discussed but has not yet materialised, is seen as an important step.
Mr Trump's positions are difficult to ascertain at this stage. His country is Ukraine's leading military supporter and he has criticised this aid on several occasions, but he has also recently threatened Moscow with more sanctions if an agreement is not reached with Kiev.
Ukraine fears that it will be brought to the negotiating table at a disadvantage, as it is struggling on the front line, and that it will be forced to cede territory occupied by Russia.
Mr Zelensky, who has long been hostile to any negotiations with Moscow, has recently raised this possibility, but only on condition that the West provides solid security guarantees for his country.
Moscow insists that any potential agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine must take account of these ‘realities on the ground’.
The Kremlin, for its part, is essentially calling for Ukraine to surrender, for it to renounce its membership of NATO and for Russia to keep the Ukrainian territories whose annexation it has claimed.
However, the conflict has recently shown no signs of de-escalation.
The Ukrainian army has been pushed back over the past year, running out of weapons and troops along a 1,000-kilometre front line.
The Ukrainian government sacked a deputy defence minister responsible for arms procurement on Tuesday, after the defence minister accused him of having ‘failed’ to ensure the ‘timely supply of ammunition’ to soldiers.
With AFP.
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