Kremlin Shrugs Off Trump’s Tough Talk on Putin

Moscow is unfazed by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s increasingly tough rhetoric toward Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

“We are taking this quite calmly. First, Trump has always had a fairly tough style in the way he phrases things and so on.

Second, we have heard a very important statement from Trump—that resolving the Ukrainian conflict has turned out to be much more difficult than he initially thought.

This is exactly what we have been saying from the very beginning: it is impossible to resolve this overnight,” Peskov stated.

According to Peskov, Moscow remains committed to maintaining dialogue and rebuilding relations with Washington, and hopes that, despite the resumption of U.S. arms deliveries to Ukraine, the American administration will continue efforts to find a settlement to the conflict.

Other comments from Peskov at the briefing included:

• Russia has no disagreements with the United States in the peace process.

• Moscow expects a third round of talks with Ukraine to take place, and emphasizes the need to start discussions on the peace memorandums exchanged by both sides.

• The Kremlin cannot confirm or deny the authenticity of an alleged recording in which Trump threatens to bomb the Russian capital if hostilities break out in Ukraine: “We don’t know if it’s fake or not. There are far more fakes than accurate reports.” According to Peskov, Putin has not spoken to Trump since he left the presidency.