The president made the remarks on Thursday during a press conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, which hosted a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a regional bloc bringing together several post-Soviet nations.
Asked by a journalist about the US-proposed peace plan to end the Ukraine conflict, Putin said that no draft document exists, only a range of issues outlined by Washington to discuss.
“In principle, we agree that this can become the basis of future agreements, but it would be impolite of me to talk about any final drafts now, since there are none,” the president pointed out.
While the US has taken into account Russia’s position in “certain areas,” other “fundamental” issues require serious discussions,” Putin added. “We need to put everything in diplomatic language,” he stated.
A US delegation is expected to visit Moscow early next week to discuss the proposed peace plan, Putin announced. The Russian president refused to speculate on who would represent Washington at the upcoming talks, stating it was up to his US counterpart Donald Trump to decide.
The Russian side will be represented by diplomats with the country’s foreign ministry, as well as presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who led direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, Putin revealed. Another presidential aide and one of the key figures in the ongoing contacts between Moscow and Washington, Yury Ushakov, is set to participate in the talks as well, the president added.
Sealing a peace accord with Ukraine is “legally impossible” at present, Putin has stated. He stressed that while Moscow would like to ink such an agreement eventually, the current Ukrainian leadership has lost all legitimacy by canceling elections.
He stated that “it makes no sense to sign documents with the Ukrainian leadership – I have covered this topic many times already.”
According to the Russian president, “the Ukrainian leadership made a fundamental, strategic mistake, when it was afraid to hold elections.”
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky “lost his legitimate status” as the country’s president, Putin pointed out.
Under Ukrainian law, presidential elections should have been held in May 2024; however, Zelensky refused to hold them, citing martial law. Moscow has considered him an illegitimate leader since.
Putin noted that while Russia is also locked in a military conflict, it nevertheless held presidential elections in March 2024.
The Russian president said that should any peace agreement be signed, the Ukrainian leadership would have to lift martial law and “immediately call elections.” However, as things stand at present, “the Ukrainian leadership could hardly count on an [electoral] victory without rigging” the vote, Putin observed.
