Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Volodymyr Zelenskyy's term as Ukraine's president has expired and therefore there is no one "legitimate" with whom to negotiate a potential cease-fire.

Earlier this week, Zelenskyy's five-year term as president expired. He had suspended elections and the writ of habeas corpus regarding unlawful imprisonment since the onset of Russia's invasion in February 2022. Zelensky has also banned most opposition parties, as well as regulating all print, broadcast, and digital media.

In November, Zelenskyy ruled out holding a presential vote this spring and urged his citizens to focus on fighting Russia and avoid political divisions.

"Now, in wartime, when there are so many challenges, it is absolutely irresponsible to throw the topic of elections into society in a lighthearted and playful way," Zelenskyy said at the time, adding "the waves of any politically divisive things must stop."

"We must realize that now is the time of defense, the time of the battle that determines the fate of the state and people, not the time of manipulations, which only Russia expects from Ukraine. I believe that now is not the right time for elections."

During a televised news conference in Belarus on Friday, Putin noted the state of Zelenskyy's official role in office would be problematic.

"But who to negotiate with?" he said. "That's not an idle question. Of course, we realize the legitimacy of the incumbent head of state is over." he said.

Putin stated than any negotiations should be adjudicated through common sense and not ultimatums and made a point of citing "today's realties on the ground," a reference to claims Russia controls almost 20% of Ukraine.

"If it gets to that point, we will need of course to understand who we should and can deal with, to arrive at signing legally binding documents," Putin said. "And then we must be fully sure we are dealing with legitimate [Ukrainian] authorities."

Putin's comments are likely to be interpreted as Russian's intention of continuing the war and that Moscow will not be engaging in peace talks. An international peace conference on Ukraine is scheduled to be held in Switzerland in June, yet Russia has not been invited and Putin has dismissed the legitimacy of the conference.

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