... President Volodymyr Zelensky's willingness to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week in Istanbul sparked a question over whether such a move contradicts his earlier decree.
In the fall of 2022, Zelensky signed a decree that "stated the impossibility of holding negotiations with Russian President Putin," as a response to Russia's illegal annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, parts of which Moscow didn't even control.
"He (Putin) does not know what dignity and honesty are. We are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with a different president of Russia," Zelensky said at the time.
Moscow has cited Zelensky's decree as a ban on talks with Putin and used it as an excuse for avoiding direct talks with Kyiv. Putin has also falsely claimed that Zelensky lacks legitimacy and can't represent Ukraine.
Putin said that such talks would be considered "illegitimate" and therefore "their outcomes could also be declared illegitimate." Now, Putin himself said that he's open to direct talks with Ukraine.
According to a source in Ukraine's president's office, the decree was a "signal to those in Ukraine who wanted to speak (to Russians) bypassing the central government."
"Back then we stated the impossibility, now we can state the possibility, the president as the head of state determines this," the source added.
"There is no ban as such, the Russians twisted it."
What is the decree about?
The decree concerning negotiations with Putin was a response to the five decisions approved by the National Security and Defense Council adopted on Sept. 30, 2022. Days later, the document was signed by Zelensky.
Although the decree does not explicitly mention a ban on holding talks, many have seen it as a de facto ban on direct talks with Putin. ...
[emphasis mine]
