Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday (Jan 28) said that he would allocate people to hold peace talks with Ukraine if Volodymyr Zelensky wants to take part in the negotiations, however, he ruled out the possibility of speaking directly to the Ukrainian leader, whom he labelled "illegitimate".

Advertisment

To this, Zelensky responded saying that Putin was "afraid" of negotiations. He further fired back at the Russian president accusing him of intentionally prolonging the nearly three-year conflict using "cynical tricks".

United States President Donald Trump, since taking his office for the second term on Jan 20, has pushed both the warring sides to end the fighting. 

Trump has threatened sanctions on Russia stating that Ukraine is ready for the negotiation talks to broker a "deal".

Advertisment

"If (Zelensky) wants to participate in the negotiations, I will allocate people to take part," Putin said, calling the Ukrainian leader "illegitimate" because his presidential term expired during martial law.

"If there is a desire to negotiate and find a compromise, let anyone lead the negotiations there... Naturally, we will strive for what suits us, what corresponds to our interests," he added.

Zelensky expressed hope stating that there was a chance for "real peace," but accused Putin of thwarting efforts to end the conflict. 

Advertisment

"Today, Putin once again confirmed that he is afraid of negotiations, afraid of strong leaders, and does everything possible to prolong the war," Zelensky wrote on X.

Zelensky has warned that Ukraine should not be excluded from any peace talks that take place between Russia and the United States, accusing Putin of wanting to "manipulate" Trump.

Also read: Ukraine war: Zelensky says US has not stopped military aid to Kyiv

Putin claims fighting would end if support were cut down for Ukraine

Putin said that the fighting would come to an end if the West cut its support for Ukraine. 

"They will not exist for a month if the money and, in a broad sense, the bullets run out. Everything would be over in a month and a half or two," Putin said in comments to a state TV reporter.

Russia's military on Tuesday said that the forces had seized a large village in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.

The Russian defence ministry said its forces had "liberated" the Dvorichna village which was home to a population of over 3,000 before the war.

(With inputs from agencies)