Zelenskyy: Putin fears negotiations and wants the war to drag out.

On January 28, Putin issued a new statement regarding negotiations with Ukraine. The Russian dictator said that he was not ready to sign a peace treaty with the Ukrainian President because he is “illegitimate.” And therefore, according to Putin, Zelenskyy cannot lift his own ban on negotiations with the Russian Federation. Only the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk, is able to do this.

The Russian President also said that as soon as the “special military operation” began in 2022, he offered Ukraine a deal – to withdraw from the territories of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic,” which Russia claims do not want to be part of Ukraine. “Then there would be no war, but Kyiv decided: ‘No, we will fight,'” Putin said.

The Russian leader also noted that the war would have ended in a month or two had the West not provided Kyiv with weapons and financial support.

In response, Zelenskyy said that Putin is afraid of negotiations and strong leaders and is doing everything to drag the war out. He added there is an opportunity to make peace now, but Russia is not interested in negotiations.