Mr. Putin announced that he would grant President Zelensky political asylum.

(Dan Tri) - President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia may consider granting asylum to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: Reuters).

At his annual press conference on December 19, President Putin said Russia does not refuse to grant asylum to anyone and may consider this with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"If he suddenly appears somewhere and says he needs political asylum, Russia does not refuse anyone," Mr Putin said, when asked whether Russia could grant political asylum to Mr Zelensky if the Ukrainian leader requested it.

President Putin said that if this scenario happens, Mr. Zelensky will likely seek asylum in Western countries.

At a press conference, Mr. Putin said Mr. Zelensky could leave Ukraine if the situation became more serious.

"Soon, there will be no one left in Ukraine who is ready to fight. When that happens, Mr. Zelensky will probably flee abroad, like other Western-backed leaders before him in other countries," President Putin declared.

President Putin also mentioned his readiness to negotiate with Ukraine to resolve the conflict. However, he reiterated Moscow's position that President Zelensky is no longer the legitimate leader of Ukraine and has no authority to sign any agreements, even if he wanted to do so.

"If the head himself ceases to be a legitimate leader, everything else loses its legitimacy when it comes to executive and law enforcement agencies," Putin said.

President Putin suggested that Ukraine could overcome the vacuum of presidential legitimacy by holding a valid presidential election, as President Zelensky's term has expired.

"If someone runs for office and gains legitimacy, we will negotiate with them, even if it is Mr. Zelensky," Mr. Putin added.

According to the Ukrainian Constitution, President Zelensky's term ends on May 21.

According to the original plan, a presidential election was to take place in Ukraine on March 31 to choose a successor to Mr. Zelensky. However, late last year, Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine would not hold any elections during the current period of martial law.

Ukraine has been under martial law since the conflict with Russia broke out in February 2022. Since then, the country's parliament has repeatedly extended martial law.

This month, the Kremlin confirmed that President Putin had granted asylum to Syrian President Bashar Assad and his family, after Mr. Assad resigned and agreed to transfer power to the opposition.

Mr. Assad arrived in Moscow after armed opposition groups in Syria launched a large-scale offensive to take control of major cities in Syria and the capital Damascus, overthrowing the Assad government on December 8.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ong-putin-tuyen-bo-se-cho-tong-thong-zelensky-ti-nan-chinh-tri-20241220100246518.htm