Russia's Medvedev rejects Ukraine’s legitimacy despite Putin-Trump peace talks claims — ISW

The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported the information.

Analysts examined statements by Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, who said on May 20 that no Ukrainian officials are currently authorized to sign a peace agreement with Russia. Medvedev questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty and reiterated long-standing Russian demands tantamount to Ukraine’s full capitulation.

The ISW emphasized that Medvedev's statements directly contradict Putin's reported agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump to immediately begin bilateral talks with Ukraine and indicate that the Russian leader has not ordered his officials to stop the narratives to discredit Ukraine in response to the promises he allegedly made to Trump. According to analysts, Putin does not intend to negotiate with Ukraine in good faith.

ISW experts also note that Russian officials have repeatedly spread the false narrative that Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government are illegitimate, in order to justify Russia’s refusal to engage in good-faith negotiations with Ukraine and to advance Russia’s long-standing war goal of installing a pro-Russian puppet government in Kyiv.

“Ukraine's Constitution and Ukrainian law explicitly state that Ukraine cannot hold elections while martial law is in place and that Ukrainian authorities cannot lift martial law while ‘the threat of attack or danger to the state independence of Ukraine and its territorial integrity’ remains. Zelenskyy also recently clarified that a September 2022 presidential decree does not preclude him from negotiating with Putin,” the Institute for the Study of War report says.

ISW again stressed that any long-term peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine must include Russia’s clear recognition of the legitimacy of Ukraine’s president, government, and Constitution.

• On Monday, May 19, U.S. President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Trump stated that Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire and an end to the war.