KEY POINTS
- The Kremlin sees nothing new in Trump’s calls for Russia to end its offensive in Ukraine.
- Trump threatened high taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on Russian goods.
- Ukraine demands security guarantees, NATO support, and rejects territorial concessions.
MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Thursday it saw nothing particularly new in US President Donald Trump’s calls for Russia to end its military offensive in Ukraine, and that Moscow was ready for “mutually respectful” dialogue with the US.
Referring to Russia and the Ukraine war, Trump said on Wednesday, “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries.”
Expectations are high that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump will soon hold a phone call to discuss the conflict, after the Republican pledged on the campaign trail to bring a swift end to the fighting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was “ready for equal, mutually respectful dialogue.”
“We are waiting for signals, which we have not yet received,” he added.
Trump has not said publicly how he sees the contours of a potential peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
Putin has outlined demands that include the Ukrainian withdrawal from parts of territory under Kyiv’s control.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has meanwhile ruled out territorial concessions, though has said he would consider trying to secure the return of land captured by Russia through “diplomatic” means.
Kyiv is also demanding security guarantees from NATO and the United States along with the deployment of Western, including American, peacekeeping troops.
Trump’s threat of sanctions
Trump said he was “not looking to hurt Russia” and had “always had a very good relationship with President Putin,” a leader for whom he has expressed admiration in the past.
Trump said he would do a very big favour to Russia and Putin by getting them to bring an end to “this ridiculous war”. Earlier this week, he said the conflict, which is nearing the end of its third year, was “destroying” Russia.
Asked about the comments on Thursday, Peskov said the Kremlin did not see anything “particularly new” in Trump’s threat of sanctions.
He said it was clear from Trump’s first presidency that the American “liked” sanctions, adding that Moscow was “closely following” all of his statements.
The Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed the barrage of Western sanctions that it has been hit with since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022.
The Russian economy has largely defied Western hopes the restrictions would push it into economic collapse.
Peskov on Thursday said that Russia faced economic “problems” — “as all countries” — but said Russia had the resources to meet “all military requirements.”
Referring to Trump’s statement, Peskov said, the USSR paid the highest price to defeat fascism during World War II, and yes, the US helped, but for them it was all business.
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Commenting on US President Donald Trump’s call not to forget that Russia “helped the United States” win World War II, the spokesman said: “The main burden in the fight against fascism and the biggest price for the victory in the fight against fascism was paid by our country, the Soviet Union.”
“The US did indeed help. It made a significant contribution. But there’s one caveat: America always makes money, for America it’s always about business,” Peskov emphasized as quoted by TASS news agency.
The spokesman said, “Now the United States, by helping Ukraine, is making money by selling its expensive energy resources to the Europeans.”
Earlier, Trump wrote on his Truth Social page that the US should never forget “that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process.” In the same post, he noted that he has good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has a fondness for the Russian people. – Agencies