The possibility of direct talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has once again become the focus of international media. The Wall Street Journal writes about this, emphasizing that a personal meeting between the two leaders would be a real challenge to the Kremlin narrative.
For the past 3.5 years, Putin has tried to impose on Russians the idea that Zelensky is an illegitimate leader and a “puppet of the West.” This image served as a justification for a full-scale war against Ukraine: the Kremlin’s real enemy is the United States and its allies, and Kyiv is merely a pawn in a global confrontation.
Direct negotiations with Zelensky refute this logic. The fact of the meeting automatically recognizes the Ukrainian president as an equal opponent, which destroys the foundation of Kremlin propaganda.
According to the WSJ, the initiative for the talks comes from US President Donald Trump, who has urged Putin to agree to a meeting. A refusal could anger the American leader, who has already hinted at new sanctions against Russia.
But even an agreement for Putin would mean political risks within Russia. The Kremlin elite and its propaganda machine have been convincing the public for years that Zelensky is a “clown controlled by Washington.” Negotiations with him call this worldview into question.
Another argument that Putin uses to cover up his reluctance to sit down at the negotiating table is the alleged “termination of Zelensky’s powers.” The Russian side is actively promoting the thesis that after the extension of his term due to the impossibility of holding elections in wartime, the Ukrainian president has lost legitimacy. Accordingly, he cannot sign any peace agreements.
However, Ukraine's international partners recognized the extension of Zelensky's mandate as legal and fully justified in the context of war.
Analysts at the Carnegie Endowment believe that Putin would rather try to postpone the meeting than outright refuse. This would avoid conflict with Trump, but at the same time would preserve the Kremlin's usual rhetoric.
As The New York Times notes, Putin has even avoided mentioning Zelenskyy’s name publicly. Such demonstrative disdain only underscores how politically dangerous any direct interaction with the Ukrainian leader could be for him.
