According to RT, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s request for a regime transition in Moscow was rejected by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said that Zelensky lacked constitutional legitimacy.
This was a firm response from Russian President Vladimir Putin during a joint press release with Belarusian President Lukashenko to Zelensky‘s recent request for regime change in Moscow. Putin zeroed in on the constitutionality of Russia’s government and elections under its laws to lay to rest any thought that Zelensky’s proposals were relevant or constitutional.
“Our political regime is grounded in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and our government was formed in full compliance with the basic law,” Putin said during a press appearance on Friday. “The same cannot be said about Ukraine,” RT quoted him as saying.
Zelensky called through virtual conference on a global Helsinki conference earlier to all world leaders to give support for changing the polity in Russia. Regime change should be urged, according to him, because there is a threat from Moscow to neighboring countries and constant aggression.
And further, according to him, Ukraine’s management lacked legitimacy. The other point of contention was that, officially, Zelensky remains in office beyond his professional term under wartime martial law, which, according to Russia, is unconstitutional.
Following their visit to the Valaam Monastery, a well-known Orthodox Christian location in Russia’s Lake Ladoga region, Putin made his comments during a joint appearance with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
International significance and implications
And this interaction takes place amid a really rough diplomatic year where Moscow and Kyiv wage political and moral battles above the ground. Experts note that public calls to foreign leaders to change the regimes in their countries could escalate into war, and as far as Russia is concerned, Zelensky’s statements imply incursion into Russia’s sphere of sovereignty. Some analysts think Putin is doing this in order to exercise calculated power projections and rally domestic support.
International response varies, though. It is mostly against Zelensky’s lure, with Western and NATO allies preferring sanctions and peace negotiations that do not mandate political outcomes in Moscow. Still, Zelensky maintains that the lasting security of the region is dependent upon the removal of the leadership which he sees as a destabilizing force.
It serves multiple purposes for Putin: the constitutional legitimacy of the country, national sovereignty, and arguments against Ukrainian tactics with strength. Observers note that this defiance supports the country’s long-held narrative that outside efforts to destabilize its governance will be unacceptable and bound to failure.
