Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, could meet again in the near future, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In an interview with Russian news outlet Argumenty i Fakty,
Peskov asserted that a meeting could be arranged soon if both Presidents feel it is needed.
“I have no doubt that if the leaders consider it necessary, their meeting can be organised very quickly. Just as the meeting in Alaska was quickly organised,” news agency Reuters reported, citing Peskov’s interview to the news outlet.
Kremlin further said that Trump’s deal-making approach to diplomacy is “quite cynical”, but in a positive sense. Peskov contrasted Trump’s position with that of European countries, which, he said, were doing everything they could to hinder a peaceful settlement of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
“In contrast, Trump is much more constructive. He is, in the good sense of the word, quite cynical. In terms of ’why fight if you can trade’. And based on these interests of America, he does everything to stop wars,” Peskov said.
Peskov also said that Russia would prefer to settle the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy instead of military action. “And if Trump can help us in making these political and diplomatic means available, then our interests coincide here, and this can and should be welcomed,” he said.
Trump has veered in recent months between confident statements that Putin wants to end the war and sharp criticism of the Russian leader over the continued bombing of Ukrainian cities.
Earlier this week, Trump hinted at imposing fresh Russia sanctions if it fails to end its Ukraine war, saying “you’ll see things happen” if he will be “unhappy” with President Vladimir Putin’s response.
“I have no message to President Putin, he knows where I stand, and he’ll make a decision one way or the other,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding, “Whatever his decision is, we’ll either be happy about it or unhappy. And if we’re unhappy about it, you’ll see things happen.”
Moscow’s consistent approach has been to flatter Trump and praise his peace-making efforts while accusing European governments of trying to torpedo the process.
Trump and Putin last met during a bilateral meeting in Alaska on August 15, their first official meeting since Trump assumed the presidency in January.
Following the August 15 Alaska summit, Trump invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Union leaders to the White House for further discussions. During the meeting on August 18, it was agreed that Putin would meet with Zelenskyy within the next two weeks, an expectation that now remains unfulfilled.
In an interview with CCN, Trump praised his relationship with Putin, but he did not hide his dissatisfaction with the situation on the ground.
“Very disappointed. Thousands of people are dying. They’re not Americans that are dying, but they’re Russians and they’re Ukrainians, and there’s thousands, and it’s a war that makes no sense,” Trump said during the conversation.
(With inputs from agencies)
