Earlier in the Trump presidency, and especially as his spat with Ukraine’s Zelensky played out more directly and out in the open, Russian media and Kremlin officials seemed almost gleeful. A slew of positive statements agreeing with Trump were issued from Moscow – for example enthusiastically backing Trump’s words that Zelensky is a “dictator without elections”.
But it seems Russian leadership wants to pull in the reigns a bit on its generally positive Trump commentary, as intense negotiations for peace settlement in Ukraine are anticipated. On Tuesday the Kremlin warned the Russian public against viewing President Donald Trump and his recent actions related to Ukraine through “rose-tinted glasses”.
This is in most immediate reference to the drastic actions of Trump cutting off military aid to Kiev, as well as most intelligence-sharing, which shocked and angered Western allies.
Peskov issued the caution about not getting overly excited in remarks given before an audience of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics.
“Don’t rush to put on rose-tinted glasses,” Peskov said. “We always need to hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. And we must always be ready to defend our interests.”
He also referenced people getting too prematurely eager over this week’s reports that Elon Musk could cut off the Ukrainian military from his Starlink communications system. This was after a fierce online clash with Poland’s outspoken foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, which also drew in Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
But by the end of that brief online spat, Musk pledged, “To be extremely clear, no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals.”
“I am simply stating that, without Starlink, the Ukrainian lines would collapse, as the Russians can jam all other communications! We would never do such a thing or use it as a bargaining chip,” he explained.
This was an example Peskov provided to his audience as to why caution is needed with the American side in any future negotiations to end the war. The Putin spokesman stressed that Russia will achieve its war aims no matter what Washington demands:
Peskov said Russia was achieving its aims on the battlefield in Ukraine, regardless of what decisions the U.S. was taking. He said the amount of weapons circulating in Ukraine was so large that Kyiv had enough to keep fighting for many months despite the suspension of U.S. deliveries.
All of this seems like Moscow is signaling it is not in a hurry – and won’t be rushing to the negotiating table just because Trump wants it. Each side is of course trying to maintain as much leverage as possible before any talks begin in earnest.
Thus clearly Russian officials don’t want appear too ‘enthused’ about Trump and the concessions he might press the Ukrainian government to make.
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