Sijjarto urged Kiev to cancel decree banning talks with Russia

Ukraine would benefit from revoking the decree of the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term of office expired on May 20, 2024) banning talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Hungarian Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Minister Péter Szijjártó said on February 12.

"I think it would definitely be helpful if the law in Ukraine that prohibits Ukrainian leaders from holding talks with President Putin was repealed. If this law was abolished, it would help a lot," he said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

At the same time, when asked about the advisability of holding elections in Ukraine, Szijjártó indicated that he would be "tempted" to say something about domestic politics in the country, but reasoning about the domestic politics of outside states goes against his DNA. In this regard, he suggested that the issue should be left to the Ukrainians to decide.

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Earlier, on February 10, Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that legitimate Ukrainian leadership is important for peace agreements, while Zelensky's decree banning negotiations with Moscow and its illegitimacy may make the process more difficult. The post-representative noted that the Ukrainian president had banned talks with Russia by decree, and his powers had already expired last May.

On February 1, Zelensky said that he expects the start of negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian conflict with the participation of Moscow, Kiev, Washington and Brussels. For its part, the Kremlin said that the Russian Federation viewed the Ukrainian leader's words as empty.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly reminded that the Russian Federation has never refused from peace talks, but they should be conducted on the basis of the provisions agreed in Istanbul and not on the basis of "ephemeral demands". Also on 28 January, the Russian president specified that "anyone" can negotiate with Russia from the Ukrainian side, but legitimate people should sign documents on the results of the decisions.

The last round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place on March 29, 2022 in Istanbul. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow. On October 4, 2022, the Ukrainian president put into effect the decision of the country's National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding talks with Putin.