Zelensky acknowledged for the first time that talks between Moscow and Kiev could begin without Ukraine returning to its 1991 borders in an interview with CBS News on Friday. Earlier, Kiev had insisted that negotiations cannot be discussed until Russian troops leave Ukrainian territory within the borders that existed at the time of the USSR's collapse.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik that Zelensky spoke about negotiations with Russia because he is nervous about his expiring presidential term.
"He is nervous. He has an election coming up. Or no election?" she wrote on her Telegram channel.
Presidential elections in Ukraine were scheduled for March 31, 2024, but the campaign did not take place due to martial law and general mobilization. Zelensky argued that it is "not the right time" to hold an election now.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia may not have to recognize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the legitimate leader of Ukraine after his presidential term expires on May 21.
The Kremlin has repeatedly stressed that it has never refused to engage in dialogue with Kiev. As presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted, there are no preconditions for this now, as peace talks have been ruled out both by Ukraine and the collective West. According to him, the situation can only progress if the new realities are taken into account.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a recent interview with Dmitry Kiselev, Russia is ready for negotiations on Ukraine, but they should be based on reality, not on wishful thinking. Moreover, as the Russian head of state pointed out, if Kiev wants to start a dialogue, it needs to cancel its decree banning negotiations.