Putin considers only parliament in Ukraine legitimate
Published: Tuesday, May 28th 2024, 18:10
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Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has once again questioned the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. He only wants to recognize the parliament in Kiev as legitimate. In the Ukrainian constitution, martial law stipulates that only the powers of the parliament and the chairman of the Supreme Rada are extended - but not those of the president, Putin said on Tuesday in the Uzbek capital Tashkent at the end of his state visit, which he had been on since Sunday.
However, Ukrainian lawyers point out that the extension of President Volodymyr Zelensky's powers is indeed covered by other laws - such as martial law itself.
Ukraine's Western allies, including Germany, also continue to recognize Zelensky as the country's legitimate president. Without martial law, Zelensky's first term of office would have ended on May 20. However, due to Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine and the occupation of large parts of the country, there are currently no elections in the country, which is why the powers continue to apply according to widespread opinion.
The Russian leadership has been trying for weeks to question Zelensky's legitimacy by pointing to allegedly contradictory laws in Ukraine. For days now, Putin has been going on and on about this issue. Last week, during a state visit to China, he said that it must be legally examined whether Zelensky was still legally in office; later, during a trip to Belarus, he emphasized that the head of state in Kiev was no longer legitimately in office.
Putin's statements are seen as an attempt to undermine the credibility of Zelenskyi, who is hosting a peace summit in Switzerland on June 15 and 16, particularly abroad, so that partners will turn away from him. Individual Ukrainian opponents of Zelensky also doubt the legitimacy of his remaining in power. In return, Zelenskyi had accused Putin of not being in power legitimately himself. Putin had the constitution rewritten three years ago in order to remain in office. Ukraine had called on the West to no longer recognize Putin following the Russian presidential election in March, which was overshadowed by allegations of manipulation.
©Keystone/SDA
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