VLADIVOSTOK, June 18. /TASS/. Just like the executive branch of the Ukrainian government, the Verkhovna Rada, too, is beholden to the US, so there is no one there who will champion Russian President Vladimir Putin’s peace plan for Ukraine, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev told reporters.

"According to my information, there are simply no independent-minded lawmakers at the Verkhovna Rada," the Russian politician said, taking a TASS reporter’s question.

Medvedev says that "it is the United States that governs all processes in Ukraine" and issues instructions to "the incumbent head of state" who he said had lost his legitimacy, only posing as a legitimate president.

At a meeting with senior Russian diplomats on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward new terms for resolving the Ukraine conflict. These include recognizing Crimea and the four new Russian regions as Russian lands, enshrining Ukraine’s non-aligned and non-nuclear status, its demilitarization and denazification as well as lifting all sanctions on Russia.

Ukraine has rejected the initiative. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky dismissed Moscow’s proposal as an ultimatum, while his adviser Mikhail Podolyak contended that Russia’s latest initiatives contained "no peace proposal at all."

Putin emphasized that Ukraine’s parliament was "a legitimate body, unlike the executive branch," as, in line with the country’s Constitution, lawmakers’ mandate only is extended under martial law.