Putin: Zelensky's term as President has expired according to the constitution of Ukraine

BREAKING: Zelensky is no longer legitimate as his term has expired according to the constitution of Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin in Minsk.

“President Zelensky’s legitimacy has expired, and Russia will proceed from this fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

‘Of course, we are aware that the legitimacy of the current head of state [of Ukraine] has ended’, Putin said at a press conference in Minsk on Friday after talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Putin recommended anyone looking for answers regarding Zelensky’s legal status to look to the Ukrainian Constitution – which does not authorize the artificial extension of his presidential term under the pretext of martial law.”

Belarusian Lukashenko echoed Putin’s assessment, hinting that the real deciders are in Washington, not Kiev.

Meanwhile, “A defiant Zelensky has rejected questions on his legitimacy from his critics in Ukraine, and from Kiev’s Western ‘partners’. ‘My five-year term is not over yet. It is continuing due to martial law,’ Zelensky told Reuters on Tuesday.”

Kiev will consider anyone who doubts Zelensky’s legitimacy ‘enemies of Ukraine’.

Putin emphasized that Russia remains ready to resume peace negotiations with Ukraine but accounting for the current realities on the ground – but NOT with an illegitimate President.

“If and when such negotiations resume, ‘we must be completely confident that we are dealing with legitimate authorities. This question must be answered in Ukraine itself. First of all, I believe, from the position of the parliament, the Constitutional Court, some other government bodies’, Putin said.”

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