The White House on Thursday dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's suggestion that peace talks in Ukraine should depend on the country being governed by the United Nations while new elections are held.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to a Russian nuclear submarine in Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle, Putin reiterated his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's mandate is illegitimate.
With the United Nations, the United States and European nations, "we could discuss the possibility of introduction of temporary governance in Ukraine,” Putin said, while Ukraine holds “democratic elections, to bring to power a capable government that enjoys the trust of the people.”
But a White House national security spokesperson dismissed Putin’s proposal, saying that Ukraine’s government was determined by its constitution and citizens, Reuters reported.
While Zelenskyy's term expired last year, Ukrainian Constitution states that elections cannot be held during wartime. Still, Putin, who has ruled Russia for all but four of the past 25 years via elections widely considered illegitimate, has repeatedly questioned Zelenskyy's mandate.
A recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 69% of Ukrainians trust Zelenskyy’s leadership.
Putin pointed to “several cases of what is called external government,” in East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and parts of the former Yugoslavia.
His comments follow attempts by U.S. officials to re-establish relations with Moscow and broker a 30-day ceasefire with Kyiv that Moscow has rebuffed amid accusations from European leaders that Putin is stalling without any serious intent to pause fighting.
With an American delegation negotiating separately with Russian and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, the White House said Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with both parties for a truce over the Black Sea, a strategic body of water bordering Ukraine, Russia and four other countries, including Turkey, a major U.S. ally and NATO member.
Ukrainian officials had yet to respond to Putin's suggestion on its governance, although Zelenskyy has repeatedly accused the Kremlin of setting terms that amount to a surrender by Kyiv.
While the Russian news agency Tass said Thursday that another round of Russian-American talks on Ukraine may take place in Riyadh in mid-April, Zelenskyy cast doubt over the integrity of future peace talks this week, suggesting in an interview with Time magazine that Russia had unduly influenced U.S. officials on the negotiating team.
Zelenskyy on Wednesday also accused the Trump administration of "constantly changing" the terms of a minerals deal it is negotiating with Ukraine, which would see the U.S. get a 50% stake in Ukraine's mineral wealth and oil and gas reserves in exchange for military aid.
Meanwhile, European leaders convened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, met in Paris on Thursday to bolster military support for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian president said during the meeting “that Russia doesn’t want any kind of peace” and was “dragging out the war.”
Putin on Thursday said Russia would be willing to work with Europe, but added the region “conducts itself in inconsistent fashion.”
Zelenskyy also accused Russia on Thursday of striking energy targets in the front-line Ukrainian city of Kherson, despite an informal ceasefire on energy infrastructure that came into effect March 18.
Ukraine's military said Friday that it shot down 89 drones launched overnight by Russia, while Moscow accused Kyiv of launching missiles that resulted in a fire which almost destroyed the Sudzha gas metering station in the western region of Kursk.
A Ukrainian official said Russia attacked the station, but NBC News was unable to verify the claims of either side.
