Russia-Ukraine war: ‘We don't care who negotiates,’ Putin says ready to meet Zelensky only during…

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Thursday that he is open to meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but only at the “final stage” of negotiations aimed at ending the three-year-long conflict.

Putin also questioned Zelensky's authority to sign a peace deal, arguing that his five-year term had technically ended under martial law—a claim that Kyiv has rejected as unfounded and propaganda-driven, AFP reported.

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“We need to find a solution that would not only put an end to the current conflict, but also create conditions that would prevent similar situations from recurring in the long term,” Putin told foreign journalists, including AFP, in Saint Petersburg.

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“I am ready to meet with everyone, including Zelensky. That is not the issue -- if the Ukrainian state trusts someone in particular to conduct negotiations, for God's sake, it can be Zelensky,” the Russian leader said.

“We don't care who negotiates, even if it is the current head of the regime,” Putin said.

But he added that this would only happen at a “final phase, so as not to sit there and divide things up endlessly, but to put an end to it.”

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Talks on ending the three-year conflict have stalled in recent weeks, with Putin pushing maximalist demands for ending his offensive while declining to attend a personal meeting with Zelensky.

Kyiv has accused Moscow of deliberately sabotaging peace efforts to prolong the conflict.

(With inputs from AFP)