Leonid Slutsky has urged the Ukrainian leadership to rescind a 2022 order banning direct negotiations with Moscow

A senior Russian MP has blasted Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky for continuing to block peace negotiations with Moscow, saying Kiev should "stop the clownery" and return to diplomacy.

In an interview with RT on Monday, State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky noted that Zelensky "banned negotiations for himself." He was referring to the Ukrainian leader's 2022 order banning direct negotiations with Russia as long as President Vladimir Putin remains in office.

"He should recall his first profession less often and stop the clownery," Slutsky said, in an apparent jab at Zelensky's past as a comedian.

On Sunday, the Russian president proposed resuming direct negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions on May 15 in Istanbul. The peace settlement process must start with talks, which could ultimately yield "some kind of new truce and a new ceasefire," according to Putin.

Slutsky urged the Ukrainian leadership be "rational," calling negotiations the "only sensible step."

"We are ready to choose our delegation and fly to Istanbul even this minute," he said. "Of course, the talks won't be easy, but I hope we can truly bring the military phase of this conflict to an end. It is in everyone's interest."

The lawmaker claimed that worldwide support for Russia's offer is growing as the global majority has formed around Putin's ideas of a multipolar world. "We must face reality and start negotiations. I urge everyone to morally support this position," Slutsky said.

He added that the number of countries supporting the conflict is "approaching zero," and that "the path toward peace has been laid out by the Russian president, endorsed by US President [Donald Trump] and all reasonable people."