According to him, the decree banning negotiations with the Russian leader was dictated by the circumstances of the moment when it was signed.
MOSCOW, January 25. /tass/. Vladimir Zelensky said that his decree banning negotiations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin was dictated by the circumstances of the moment when it was signed, and again spoke about his readiness to negotiate with the Russian side.
"The decision is why I signed this decree. <...> There were many shadow political processes, our deputies, MEPs, and the United States were involved. <...> I stopped it. <... I have forbidden anyone to hold talks," Zelensky said, answering the question whether his position has changed since he banned negotiations with Putin by his decree. A video of a joint press conference by Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who is on a visit to Kiev, was posted by Zelensky's office.
He added that he does not know what the format of negotiations on a peaceful settlement will be, but believes that Ukraine, the United States, Europe and the Russian side will participate there.
The Ukrainian authorities had previously maintained uncompromising rhetoric regarding Russia's participation in peace talks, and with the support of the West, they tried to convene "peace" conferences to which Moscow was not invited. As noted in the Russian Foreign Ministry, these meetings turned into a complete fiasco, as they could not serve as a basis for sustainable peace.
Kiev's rhetoric began to change after the victory in the US presidential election of Donald Trump, who declared his intentions to put an end to the Ukrainian conflict as soon as possible. After taking office, he announced his desire to talk with the president of the Russian Federation and made a number of resonant statements, in particular that Zelensky told him about his readiness to conclude a deal to end the conflict.
On January 23, Zelensky said he would allow Putin to negotiate, provided that Trump guarantees Ukraine's security. He also admitted that negotiations could begin even if Ukraine does not return to the borders of 2022, which Kiev had previously insisted on as a necessary condition. In this regard, Alexander Dubinsky, an opposition-minded deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, noted that Trump made Zelensky "spin like he was in a frying pan."
On the "prohibition of negotiations"
The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated their readiness to negotiate a settlement of the conflict. At the same time, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, drew attention to the fact that the main obstacles are the inability to negotiate with Putin, as well as Ukrainian initiatives, which indicate Kiev's complete isolation from modern realities.
Putin, commenting on Trump's words, stressed that Moscow had never refused a diplomatic settlement of the conflict, as Kiev had done. He added that the current Ukrainian leadership is currently illegitimate, which is a dangerous legal conflict that would devalue any outcome of the negotiations. The Russian leader added that it was hardly possible to negotiate seriously under Zelensky's "prohibitive decree."
