Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has stated that a 2022 decree barring negotiations with Russia does not apply to him personally, despite renewed efforts for direct peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Türkiye later this week.
Zelensky made the assertion during a press conference on Tuesday, amid growing international pressure to pursue a political resolution to the ongoing conflict. The Ukrainian leader has demanded that Putin attend the talks in person to demonstrate that Moscow is serious about ending the war.
“It’s a Russian narrative that I cannot speak with Putin,” Zelensky said in Kyiv. “Nobody but me can conduct negotiations on sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
His comments follow renewed diplomatic outreach from the Kremlin, which last week expressed readiness to restart direct talks in Istanbul without preconditions. Zelensky, in response, said he would attend, but only if Moscow agrees to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire—a demand Russia has rejected as a tactical maneuver.
In September 2022, Zelensky signed a decree, endorsed by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, which explicitly banned any negotiations with Russia while Putin remains in office. The law was implemented as Ukraine sought to regain occupied territories through military means.
However, Zelensky now argues that the intent of the law was to prevent unauthorized backchannel negotiations, not to limit his own powers as president.
Russian officials have consistently pointed to the decree as proof of Kiev’s unwillingness to pursue peace, while also questioning the legal validity of any deal Zelensky might sign given the expiration of his presidential mandate in 2024.
Ukraine’s Constitution prohibits elections during wartime. As a result, Zelensky has remained in office beyond his elected term, drawing criticism from political rivals who argue that he lacks constitutional legitimacy. In response, Zelensky has dismissed these claims as “Kremlin talking points.”
Moscow, while labeling it an internal Ukrainian matter, has warned that any peace agreement signed without a clear mandate could be challenged in international forums.