Russian President Vladimir Putin stated from the capital of Belarus on Friday that the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ended, pointing out that the question of who negotiations regarding Ukraine will be held with is not a question without basis.
In a press conference following Russian-Belarusian talks, Putin said, "Who are we negotiating with? This is not a question without merit; we understand that the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian president has ended." He added, "Of course, we must understand who we are dealing with, and who can be engaged to sign legally binding documents, and at that point, we must ensure that we are dealing with legitimate authorities."
He continued, "Moscow supports negotiations concerning Ukraine and has not prevented anyone from conducting them, unlike the West, which has defined its goal as defeating Russia." He stated, "We have not prevented anyone from negotiating; we are for negotiations," adding, "However, provoked and suggested by the Western guardians of the Kyiv regime, the goal has been set to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia and to win on the battlefield."
Promotional Step
In this context, the Russian president noted that the aim of the conference taking place in Switzerland is to affirm Zelensky's legitimacy, indicating that this is a promotional step without any legal consequences.
Putin said, "I believe that one of the goals of the Geneva conference, which has been announced, is to confirm the Western community, which sponsors Kyiv, the legitimacy of the current head of state, which no longer exists, but these general promotional steps have nothing to do with legal documents."
For his part, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that Zelensky's leadership in Ukraine lacks legal integrity. Lukashenko told reporters after his discussions with Putin, "Regarding the expiration of Volodymyr Zelensky's powers, there is no legal integrity here..." He noted that "the Constitutional Court and other courts in Ukraine cannot do anything." He added that "the current and future president of Ukraine will not be able to resolve peace issues; these matters are decided abroad."
It is noteworthy that Belarus is a key ally of Moscow and was used as a launching point for the Russian military operation in Ukraine in February of last year.
