Putin may reject Ukraine peace deal over legitimacy concerns
Vladimir Putin said any peace deal with Kyiv would be invalid because of a decree by Volodymyr Zelensky in comments that showed the Russian president was not interested in negotiations recognizing Ukraine as an independent state.
That assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) followed Putin's interview with Russian state TV in which he referred to a decree Ukrainian President Zelensky issued in 2022 that banned negotiations with him.
The Washington, D.C.-based think tank said that Putin's comments were part of Moscow's narrative in questioning Zelensky's legitimacy and Ukraine's sovereignty.
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry via email for comment.
Why It Matters
U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House has amplified speculation about negotiations to end the war started by Putin. But by attacking Zelensky's right to even strike a deal and the legitimacy of the procedure itself, the Russian president has added to doubts that he intends to negotiate imminently.
What To Know
Moscow has repeatedly said Zelensky is an illegitimate leader stemming from the martial law he declared due to the war, which banned presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Before the decree, his five-year term was set to expire on May 20, 2024.
Putin said this means that Zelensky cannot reverse the decree he issued in September 2022 that banned talks with the Russian leader after Moscow's illegal annexation of Ukraine's partially occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.
Putin often discusses points he wants to promote to the TV reporter Pavel Zarubin, whom he told on Wednesday he would not view any deal with Ukraine as binding. This was because the Ukrainian government would not rescind the 2022 decree, so Zelensky would have no right to sign documents.
Putin said the order can only be revoked by the speaker of Ukraine's parliament, who must have become the country's acting president after Zelensky's term ends.
The Russian leader added that not only should Zelensky's decree be revoked, but the "legitimacy" of Ukrainian negotiators should be "verified by lawyers" before talks begin.
But the ISW said that Putin would likely seize on any unconstitutional act by Ukraine's parliament (Verkhovna Rada)—even one he is now calling for—to declare them "illegitimate" and create a straw man argument to hide his disinterest in serious negotiations that recognize Ukraine as an independent state.
The think tank that Putin is pushing rhetoric about Zelensky's illegitimacy to make conditions for Russia to justify violating any future agreement with Ukraine.
What People Are Saying
Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporter Pavel Zarubin: "Due to his illegitimacy, has no right to sign anything....if we start negotiations now, they will be illegitimate."
The Institute for the Study of War, in an assessment: "Putin's statements rejecting the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government and of a possible future peace agreement set conditions for Russia to justify violating any future agreement with Ukraine."
What Happens Next
Moscow is likely to continue questioning Zelensky's legitimacy, and Putin said last week that he was prepared for talks with Trump over ending the war.
But the ISW said that Putin is trying to coerce Trump into talks excluding Ukraine and compel him to endorse Kremlin propaganda about the illegitimacy of the current Ukrainian government.