Russian foreign minister says recognition of Zelensky's legitimacy may not happen
(Baonghean.vn) - According to RIA Novosti, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the issue of recognizing Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky as President of Ukraine may not happen on May 21.
This was Foreign Minister Lavrov's comment on the statement of Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzia that President Zelensky's decision not to hold Ukrainian presidential elections will make him illegal from May 21, 2024.
"As for May 20 and what will happen on May 21, let's wait until then. Perhaps there will be no need to admit anything" - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Earlier, on February 27, the Ukrainian publication Zerkalo Nedeli cited a source from the Office of the President of Ukraine that had prepared an appeal to the Constitutional Court requesting clarification on the legitimacy of President Volodymyr Zelensky after May 20. Later, the Constitutional Court announced that it had not received any such appeal.
Ukrainian parliamentary leaders said President Zelensky's powers will expire on the night of May 21, and cannot be extended.
The presidential election in Ukraine was supposed to take place on March 31, 2024, but it was not held due to martial law and general mobilization. President Zelensky said that the election was “not at the right time”, and stressed that the issue needed to be resolved.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with CBS on March 28 that not all countries wanted to participate in the summit on Ukraine in Switzerland.
“We are waiting for our partners to agree, but this is very difficult, because all partners must confirm that they will do so. The majority are on our side, but some are still balancing their relations with Russia,” President Zelensky said.
Currently, President Zelensky is facing many major challenges, as the Ukrainian armed forces stagnate on all sides of the battlefield; the presidential election does not take place as planned; and Western aid is trickling.
On the Russian side, in a speech at the United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in Ukraine on March 22, Russian Ambassador Nebenzia said that Moscow had completed the goal of demilitarizing Ukraine.
"Given the fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have not fought with their own weapons for a long time, we can say that one of the goals of Russia's special operation, the demilitarization of Ukraine, has been achieved," the Russian diplomat said./.