Russia is ready for negotiations with Zelensky but only if the Ukrainian president wins an election, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
The Russian leader claimed that Zelensky’s government was not the legitimate authority in Ukraine because “its constitution does not allow the extension of the president’s mandate, even under martial law”.
Zelensky’s presidential term expired in May and the Ukrainian government has promised to hold elections immediately after the end of the war.
Putin made the comments while taking questions from the public and the media during a four-hour-long marathon annual news conference and phone-in.
During the session, Putin appeared more enthusiastic about the possibility of talks with Donald Trump, saying he was ready to meet the incoming US president but that no plans had yet been made.
He also said that Russia would need to secure a “long-lasting peace” in Ukraine as a short-term truce would “allow the enemy to resupply”.
Ukraine’s military equipment was being “exhausted”, Putin said, adding that Russian forces were advancing and “the enemy is unable to hold its positions”.
He said a decision on launching the invasion should have been taken earlier than February 2022 and that Moscow should have prepared “systematically” for it.
When asked about changes he had noticed in himself since the invasion of Ukraine, Putin said he joked less and “had almost stopped laughing”.
In May, Putin said that the expiry of Zelensky’s five-year-term would raise a legal obstacle if Russia and Ukraine were to hold peace talks.
“Who to negotiate with? That’s not an idle question… Of course we realise the legitimacy of the incumbent head of state is over,” he said at the time.
Asked by the BBC whether he had achieved his goals, Putin said he believed that Russia had “moved away from the brink of the abyss”.
The Russian president added that his country was about to lose its sovereignty when he assumed power in 2000.
He said Russia’s economy was leaving the UK’s behind, but that Russia was ready to work with Britain if it is willing to.