For the umpteenth time, russian dictator putin has talked about resuming negotiations with Ukraine. However, the topic is now being actualised by the russian side against the backdrop of the big peace summit in Switzerland. Find out what new putin said about making peace with Kyiv and how Ukraine has already reacted to it

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Russian dictator vladimir putin is allegedly ready to resume ceasefire talks in Ukraine, but only if the current battle lines are maintained. At the same time, russia's illegitimately "elected" president claims that the legitimacy of Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has "expired".

According to Reuters, citing sources in putin's inner circle, the dictator is ready to agree to a ceasefire, but he is also ready to continue the war.

Does putin want to negotiate or not?

During his visit to Belarus, the russian leader spoke about the talks: "Let them resume... We are in favour of negotiations," he said, adding that "we see that talks have now resumed, that we need to return to negotiations."

At the same time, the kremlin has allegedly denied that putin is ready to agree to a ceasefire given the current line of contact.

According to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the russian dictator is "trying to disrupt the peace summit in Switzerland next month initiated by Ukraine, using his entourage to send false signals about his alleged readiness to stop the war" with his statements about the talks.

And the Ukrainian Foreign Minister's version is indeed true, as russia has not been invited to the summit, which will bring together many countries to lay the groundwork for future negotiations to end the war.

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Doubtful President doubts the legitimacy of Ukraine's leader

During a speech in Minsk, putin said that Zelenskyy's legitimacy had "run out". And when the time comes for peace talks, putin "will need to understand who to deal with in order to sign legally binding documents". 

Thus, on the one hand, putin says he wants to resume negotiations, but on the other hand, he does not recognise the legitimacy of the Ukrainian president. This approach makes one wonder with whom the russian dictator is going to negotiate, and whether he is going to do so at all. 

By the way, Ukrainian intelligence had previously warned that russians would try to destabilise the situation in Ukraine by raising the issue of Zelenskyy's legitimacy. The fact is that the president of Ukraine is elected for 5 years, and given that the last elections in the country took place in 2019, new elections should have been held this year. However, Ukraine is under martial law due to russia's full-scale invasion, and according to the law, elections cannot be held in a time of war, which means that the country cannot elect a new president.

There will be talks, but for now, in Switzerland

As you know, the war in Ukraine has been going on for more than two years. Ukraine and its allies are striving to put an end to russian aggression. To this end, the parties are organising a major peace summit in Switzerland this summer, to which russia has not been invited.

It is unclear how many leaders will attend this meeting. The key issue of disagreement is China's participation. Although earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that about 100 countries would take part in the summit.

For Switzerland, China's participation will be crucial, as Bern wants to make this initiative credible. Ukraine's allies consider China's presence important to the success of the meeting, given Beijing's influence on moscow.

We remind you! Pope Francis has once again made a scandalous statement about the negotiations between Ukraine and russia. In his words, the pontiff even hints at Ukraine's defeat in the war. What exactly did the Pope say that provoked such a negative reaction from the Ukrainian side, we explain here.

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