Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is "illegitimate" and said that he has no right to sign any documents in potential peace negotiations, according to an interview with the state TV channel Rossiya 1 broadcast on Jan. 28.
"Negotiations can be held with anyone," Putin said. "But due to (Zelensky's) illegitimacy he has no right to sign anything. If (Zelensky) wants to take part in talks, I will delegate people who will conduct such talks. But the (key) issue is the ultimate signing of the documents."
Russia has widely used the claim that Zelensky is illegitimate in its propaganda in an effort to discredit the Ukrainian government. Major Ukrainian constitutional lawyers and legal experts believe the claim is false and unfounded.
Putin also mentioned Zelensky's Sept. 30, 2022 decree to ban negotiations with the Russian president. The move came in response to Russia's illegal annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, which are partially occupied.
Putin claimed that, due to his alleged illegitimacy, Zelensky cannot lift his ban on negotiations with Russia. The decree should be revoked before such negotiations begin, and the "legitimacy" of Ukrainian negotiators should be "verified by lawyers," Putin added.
"If we start negotiations now, they will be illegitimate. There is a problem here: when the current head of the regime signed this decree (on banning negotiations), he was a legitimate president, and now he cannot revoke it," Putin said.
He claimed that the decree can only be revoked by the speaker of Ukraine's parliament, who must have become the country's acting president after the alleged expiry of Zelensky's term.
"If there is a will, any issue of a legal nature can be resolved. But so far, we haven't seen such willingness," Putin said.
Under the martial law act passed by Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, presidential, parliamentary and local elections are banned.
If martial law had not been imposed, the next presidential election would have been held on March 31, 2024, and Zelensky's term would have ended on May 20, 2024.
Some of Zelensky's critics claim that the Constitution does not authorize extending his presidential term under martial law. They argue that he ceased to be a legitimate president on May 20. But leading constitutional lawyers dispute this claim, saying the Constitution allows such an extension.
Earlier, Putin said that Russia is prepared to hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the war in Ukraine.
Oleg Sukhov
(Updated: )
