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Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doubts whether Putin is still alive. Photo/REUTERS
MOSCOW – President Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said he was unsure of the Russian president Vladimir Putin still alive or is it Putin who is making decisions for his country at the moment.
The Kremlin responded by saying the Ukrainian leader had a purely psychological dislike for the existence of Russia and its leader.
Zelensky’s comments were made during a speech on Thursday morning to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
“I don’t really understand who to talk to and about what,” says Zelensky.
“I’m not sure that the Russian president who occasionally appears on the green screen is actually the (real) one. I don’t really understand if he’s still alive or if he made the decisions, or whoever made the decisions there. What group of people (may make decisions in Russia)? I don’t have that kind of information.”
Also read: Zelensky: Is Putin Still Alive?
“I don’t quite understand how you can promise European leaders one thing, and the next day launch a full-scale invasion of a country. I just don’t quite understand who we are dealing with. When we say ‘peace talks’ I don’t quite understand with whom (we have to negotiate),” Zelensky continued.
“We are talking to you now: you know exactly who I am, and I know exactly who you are. There are witnesses to the fact that we live. And even if we talk about different things, we can reach a consensus.”
Zelensky’s comments were immediately responded to by the Kremlin in the afternoon.
“It is clear that Russia and Putin are a big problem for Ukraine and Zelensky. And it is clear that, purely psychologically, Zelensky prefers that neither Russia nor Putin exist,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, as quoted by Russia’s state-owned RBC news agency, Friday (20/1/2023).
