Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday said that while Russia is prepared to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to further progress peace talks, it questions his legitimacy.
When asked by NBC News host Kristen Welker whether Russia views Zelensky as the “legitimate leader” of Ukraine, Lavrov called Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s Ukrainian counterpart a “de facto head of the regime.”
“We recognize him as de facto head of the regime. And in this capacity, we are ready to meet with him,” Lavrov said on Meet the Press in a recorded interview that aired Sunday morning.
“When you come to a stage, when you have to sign documents, we would need a very clear understanding by everybody that the person who is signing is legitimate,” he added. “And according to the Ukrainian Constitution, Mr. Zelensky is not at the moment.”
Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly insisted that Zelensky, despite being democratically elected, is not a legitimate president because his five-year term expired in May 2024. However, Zelensky continues to serve because the Ukrainian Constitution delays all elections while the country remains under martial law, which has been the case since the start of the war in February 2022.
Russia argues Zelensky lacks legal standing to sign any agreements because he has stayed in office for too long.
Despite the accusations, the Ukrainian parliament affirmed Zelensky’s legitimacy earlier this year.
The Russian foreign minister’s statement comes as both sides pursue peace talks mediated by the United States. After Zelensky and Putin separately met with President Donald Trump, Trump said he was attempting to arrange a face-to-face meeting between them.
While Trump hopes a Zelensky-Putin bilateral summit will happen without his direct participation, Lavrov said there is no plans for such a meeting at this time.
“There is no meeting planned. And I’m not challenging this, but you cannot, I think, understand what I am saying,” he told Welker. “Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky when the agenda would be ready for a summit. And this agenda is not ready at all.”
Lavrov continued to allege that Ukraine is obstructing the peace talks with its leaders’ strong rhetoric amid the war.
Ukraine is expected to provide some territorial concessions in order to reach peace with Russia, but so far, Zelensky has not been receptive to the idea.
“Zelensky said no to everything,” Lavrov said. “How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?”
Meanwhile, Zelensky is actively seeking NATO-like security guarantees for Ukraine that would deter future Russian aggression. The agreement would be a substitute for Ukraine’s NATO membership, which Russia has strongly opposed. Security guarantees was a major topic discussed between Zelensky, Trump, and European leaders at the White House last week.