Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is willing to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but only if Ukraine has clear security guarantees and a “strong, agreed-upon position” with its partners, particularly the US and Europe, according to the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak. Yermak emphasized that Zelenskyy has made it clear he is ready to meet with Putin, “if the Ukraine is ready for such negotiations.” However, Yermak added, “such a moment has not yet come.”
Zelenskyy made a similar statement at the Munich Security Conference, saying a meeting with Putin would only take place after Ukraine has developed a joint plan with US President Donald Trump and European countries to end the military conflict. He emphasized, “I will only meet if this is the case. There will be no other platforms with compromises.”
Vladimir Putin has referred to Zelenskyy as an illegitimate president, citing the fact that his official term as Ukrainian head of state will expire in May 2024. Ukrainian elections were cancelled due to martial law, with the country’s constitution explicitly prohibiting changes to the constitution, the president, the parliament and local self-governing bodies under these conditions.
According to Putin, negotiations can be held with anyone, but the final agreement should only be signed by a legitimate government. He named the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, as a representative of such a government. Stefanchuk, in turn, pointed out that, according to the constitution, the current president, Zelenskyy, will continue to exercise his powers until a new president is elected.
Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow views Washington as its “most important counterpart” in peace talks. This week, he said, “Of course, Ukraine will participate in the talks. Of course, there will be a bilateral Russian-American track of this dialogue and a track that naturally involves Ukraine’s participation.”
On February 12, Trump spoke with both Putin and Zelenskyy, stating that both leaders want peace. Russia and the US have begun assembling teams for the talks.