MOSCOW, Dec 2 (The African Portal) – Proposals for a settlement in Ukraine prepared by US President Donald Trump’s administration are a good basis for a final agreement, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated at a briefing for Indian media ahead of the Russia-India summit in New Delhi.
He also noted that Europeans simply want to steal Russian money and spend it on supporting Kiev’s “war machine.”
TASS has summed up the Kremlin representative’s key statements.
On relations with India
Russia continues to be “a crucial energy supplier to India” at competitive prices: “And we have no doubt that this trade brings enormous benefits to India and is mutually beneficial at the same time.”
Bilateral relations between Russia and India are based “on a deep historical experience of mutual understanding, partnership, and a shared vision of world events and a global system based on international law, the rule of law, and the ability to consider each other’s interests.”
In its relations with India, Russia is focused on developing bilateral cooperation, protected from external interference: “What concerns us is how we are going to continue and increase the volume of our bilateral business with India without allowing anyone to interfere in it. And this will certainly be discussed.”
Almost all trade between Russia and India is conducted in national currencies: “This is very important because in this way we protect our trade, the sovereignty of both countries, Russia and India, and our trade cooperation.”
The Kremlin expects that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India “will be successful.”
Russia expects to increase imports from India, as there is currently an imbalance in trade between the two countries: “We know that our Indian friends are concerned about this. By the way, we are jointly seeking opportunities to increase imports from India to Russia. We want to buy more from India.”
Russia “hopes for the continuation” of cooperation with India in nuclear sector projects.
On Ukrainian settlement
Russia “highly values” India’s position on the Ukrainian settlement and New Delhi’s readiness to contribute to the search for peace.
The fact that Europeans do not want to listen to Russia on the topic of Ukraine and the absence of dialogue is a problem: “We are not talking to Europeans. We have no dialogue, not a single word. So how can you know your colleagues’ position on such a complex problem if you don’t talk to each other? This is our biggest problem.”
European countries are talking about war “until the last Ukrainian,” while the Trump administration is “making enormous efforts” toward a settlement in Ukraine.
Russia wants peace, but its concerns must be taken into account.
Russia is open to peace negotiations, but the goals set at the beginning of the special military operation must be achieved: “We must achieve our goals, and we must eliminate the initial reasons for the military operation we started.”
An agreement on a Ukrainian settlement must include the elimination of the causes of the special military operation: “We want peace. Why don’t we conclude a peace agreement immediately? It’s very difficult. There were root causes for our president’s decision to start the special military operation. And first, we must come to an agreement in a way that eliminates these root causes.”
On Trump’s plan
US mediation on Ukraine is “very effective.”
Trump’s peace plan creates a good basis for agreements on Ukraine: “Trump’s plan is a very good basis for this, and we hope we can adhere to this basis.”
On Putin-Witkoff meeting
The forthcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US the president’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will last as long as necessary, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
“No, [the talks between Putin and Witkoff will last] as long as necessary,” the Kremlin spokesman said, responding to a question about whether a specific time limit is allocated for the meeting according to protocol.
On Russian assets
Europeans simply want to steal Russian money and spend it on supporting Kiev’s “war machine”: “They [Europeans] are discussing the possibility of stealing Russian assets that remain blocked in Europe. That’s more than $200 billion.”
On statements by European politicians
Statements by European politicians about a Russian threat are nonsense: “They [European politicians] say they are afraid of Russia, that Russia is dangerous for Europe. But that’s nonsense.”
On the dollar and national currencies
National currencies are increasingly being used in world trade, while the dollar’s share is steadily declining: “This is not a fast, but a very steady trend that will continue in the coming years.”
Russia, together with other countries, is considering developing alternative payment systems: “We continue to think together about how to create bilateral or multilateral systems that could become an alternative to systems that can be used as a political tool to put pressure on certain countries.”
On sanctions
Russia remains open to foreign investment, with businesses from various countries showing interest despite the sanctions.
Credit: TASS
