Speaking at an international legal forum in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president who currently serves as the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, admitted that Moscow doesn’t like the current political regime in Kiev “at all.”

Medvedev said that the ruling authorities in Kiev have one last opportunity to preserve some statehood after the Ukraine conflict inevitably resolves, urging Kiev to engage in peace talks based on the reality of the situation on the ground. He suggested that Ukraine’s leaders have “one last chance to preserve, under certain conditions, after the end of military actions, some kind of statehood or, if you like, some kind of international legal personality and gain a chance for peaceful development.”

Though the Ukrainian government lacks any sovereignty and is a failed “quasi-state” in its current form, Moscow remains open to holding unconditional direct peace negotiations that would take into account the current realities on the ground and address the root causes of the conflict, Medvedev stated.

Moscow is concerned that there are currently no individuals in Ukraine that have the legal authority to sign any sort of a peace deal with Russia, he noted. This concern mainly has to do with the fact that a treaty signed by the current leadership could subsequently be rejected once a new government in Ukraine is elected, he explained. –RT

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United States President Donald Trump has also declared that he can foresee an end to this war after having a long phone conversation with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

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Moscow has also repeatedly questioned Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy as Ukraine’s leader. Just last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov signaled that the Russian side may overlook his status in order to resume peace negotiations. ”The interests of entering the peaceful settlement process are above all else,” Peskov said, stressing that “the primary goal is to begin this negotiation process,” while all other questions are “secondary.”