MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin intended his proposal for talks on Ukraine not for Vladimir Zelensky but for US President-elect Donald Trump, Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director at the Institute of CIS Countries, told TASS.

"This proposal was not addressed to Zelensky, not to his team at all. This proposal was addressed to Trump. If talks are to be held, then they will be with him," he said. "This is clearly a proposal for Trump that after his inauguration we are ready for communication, ready for discussion."

"It would be a tough conversation," Zharikhin went on to say. "Putin is ready for dialogue, Trump is ready for dialogue, but the dialogue will be hard and tough."

According to the analyst, Putin "dismissed Zelensky right away as not having the legitimacy to conduct serious negotiations. Zharikhin said it is impossible to negotiate with the so-far-legitimate legislature because it is a collective branch of government. "There is nothing to talk about with [current US President Joe] Biden at all, much less with his team," the analyst said. "Ukraine does not want to negotiate now either."

"Everything will really start after January 20" when Trump will be sworn in, he said.

At his end-of-year news conference, Putin said that Moscow is ready to hold talks on Ukraine without preconditions, but taking into account the current situation and on the basis of previous agreements.