The Kremlin is aware of US President Donald Trump’s statements on shortening the deadline for resolving the conflict in Ukraine and has taken note of all his comments, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Peskov said: “We have taken note of President Trump’s statement yesterday.”
The Kremlin spokesman added that he would prefer to avoid commenting on the US leader’s statements. Peskov noted, however, that Russia continues to defend its interests within the framework of its “military operation” in Ukraine. At the same time, the country is interested in a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Deputy Security Council Secretary Dmitry Medvedev, commenting on Trump’s decision, said that “Russia is not Israel or Iran to be given ultimatums.” He believes that every such demand is “a step towards war.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is always open to discussing a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, but in his opinion, this is not what Kyiv wants. The president also noted that Russia will not abandon its goals and that the country’s security must be ensured for the long term.
Zelensky praises Trump
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky believes that US President Donald Trump’s decision to shorten the deadline for Russia will bring the world closer to peace.
“The clear position and determination of @POTUS comes at just the right time, when much can change thanks to the power of true peace,” Zelensky wrote on X.
He thanked Trump for his desire to end the fighting. The Ukrainian president assured that Kyiv remains committed to peace and will continue to work with Washington.
Russia threatened with 100% tariffs over Ukraine
Since the beginning of the year, Trump and Putin have had six telephone conversations, the last one on July 3. The US president said he was dissatisfied with the conversation.
On July 14, Donald Trump promised to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Russia and its trading partners. All this will happen if Russia fails to achieve peace in Ukraine within 50 days, he added. At the same time, Trump also accused the Kremlin of inaction in resolving the crisis in Ukraine.
Later, the American leader also said that he would not like to impose new sanctions against Russia and countries that continue to interact with it. In this regard, he expressed hope that the crisis would come to an end in the near future.
“I’m very disappointed. I’m disappointed in President Putin. Very disappointed in him. So we’re going to have to look, and I’m going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number,” Trump said.
When asked if a meeting with Putin could help, the White House chief replied: “I don’t know. I’m not interested in talking anymore. He’s so good at talking, with such respect, and then people die the next night.”
At the same time, on Monday, the US president indicated that he was reducing the deadline for Russia to reach a peace agreement to 10-12 days, starting from July 28.
“There’s no reason in waiting, we just don’t see any progress being made,” he said.
Trump explained that he was taking this step because he already “anticipated” Russia’s response to his condition.
