The Ukrainian leader says he is ready to negotiate with President Vladimir Putin once Kiev and its Western backers have a "common plan"

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has stated that President Vladimir Putin is the only Russian official he is prepared to negotiate with, ruling out any format that would involve any other of Moscow's representatives.

Zelensky issued a decree in 2022 expressly banning any interaction with the Russian head of state. However, earlier this month, the Ukrainian leader appeared to flip-flop on the issue, telling British journalist Piers Morgan that he would meet Putin if that proves to be the "only setup in which we can bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine."

Addressing Munich Security Conference attendees on Friday, Zelensky insisted that he was "not going to meet with Russians. I will meet with one Russian only - with Putin." The official hastened to add that it is only after Ukraine, the US and the EU have devised a "common plan," that he "will sit down with Putin, and we will stop the war."

Zelensky emphasized that he would not accept "any other compromise arrangements" and expressed his hope that US President Donald Trump would side with Kiev and "really help us," as opposed to being a mere mediator.

Speaking of his country's long-standing aspirations to join NATO, Zelensky acknowledged that he has "never heard during conversations at the presidential level that we will be in NATO. Ever." The Ukrainian leader suggested that Trump's skeptical stance does not differ from that of his predecessors.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, shortly after his phone conversation with President Putin, Trump wrote that Zelensky "wants to make PEACE," just like the Russian head of state.

Speaking late last month, Putin argued that Zelensky no longer has the legitimacy needed to cancel his earlier decree banning talks with the Russian president.
The Ukrainian leader's presidential term expired in May 2024, but Zelensky has refused to hold elections since, citing martial law. The Kremlin insists that the politician ceased to be a legitimate head of state.

"It's possible to negotiate with anyone. However, due to his illegitimacy, [Zelensky] has no right to sign anything," Putin said in January, stressing that any potential peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev must be watertight from the legal standpoint.

Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the "Russian side remains open to negotiations" with Ukraine despite Zelensky's dubious legal status.