Russia-Ukraine War: "We don't care who is negotiating," Putin says ready to meet Zelensky only during ... | Today news

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he was open to meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, but only on the “final phase” of negotiations aimed at ending the three -year conflict. Putin also questions Zelensky’s authority to sign a peace agreement, arguing that his five-year term technically ended under martial law-a claim that Kyiv rejected as unfounded and propaganda-driven, AFP reports. “We need to find a solution that would not only end the current conflict, but also create circumstances that will prevent similar situations in the long run,” Putin told foreign journalists, including AFP, in Saint Petersburg. “I’m ready to meet with everyone, including Zelensky. That’s not the issue – if the Ukrainian state trusts someone to conduct negotiations in particular, it can be Zelensky, ‘the Russian leader said. “We don’t care who negotiates, even if it’s the current head of the regime,” Putin said. But he added that it would only happen in a “final phase, not to sit there and divide things endlessly, but to end it.” Discussions about the ending of the three-year conflict have come to a standstill over the past few weeks, with Putin running maximum claims for ending his offensive while refusing to attend a personal meeting with Zelensky. Kyiv accused Moscow of deliberately sabotaging peace efforts to extend the conflict. (With input of AFP)