Russia declares Zelensky has no authority to sign a peace deal, casting doubt on Ukraine’s future negotiations and the path to ending the war.
A new message from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shows that Russia and Ukraine are still showing no signs of getting close to signing a peace deal to end the conflict.
According to RT, Russia has said it is ready to negotiate with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is considered the “de facto head” of Kiev, but any agreement can only be signed by another legitimate representative of Ukraine.
In a rare interview with NBC on August 24, Lavrov did not rule out the possibility of a direct meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky “if this meeting really brings concrete results”. However, he stressed that the necessary preparations for such a meeting have not yet been made.
The Russian foreign minister noted that Zelensky is currently the “de facto head of Ukraine”, but said that “it is very important who will sign the agreement on the Kiev side”. “We need a clear consensus from all sides that the person who will sign the peace agreement on the Ukrainian side must be a legitimate representative”, Lavrov said.
From Russia’s perspective, Zelensky’s presidential term ended more than a year ago. Ukraine has yet to hold new elections due to martial law, which Russia uses as an excuse to deem Zelensky “least legitimate”.
The Russian foreign minister also said that Zelensky’s calls for a meeting with Putin were “just a show”, aimed at strengthening his legitimacy. “Zelensky wants to have an element of show, which he is very good at. He is not interested in substance,” Lavrov said.
According to Lavrov, Moscow sees no point in talks that are unlikely to yield results due to Kiev’s stance. He cited instances where Zelensky directly rejected statements by US President Donald Trump.
“Zelensky said no to every proposal. He said that no one can prohibit Ukraine from joining NATO, and he publicly stated that he would not discuss territorial issues,” Lavrov said.
Russia insists that any solution to the Ukrainian conflict must address the root causes of the crisis. Moscow demands that Ukraine commit to neutrality, demilitarization, “de-fascism” and recognition of territorial realities.