Moscow has rejected US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that a settlement in Ukraine can be achieved by falling oil prices.
In an address to the annual World Economic Forum on Thursday, January 23, 2024, Trump said that the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries shares responsibility for the ongoing Ukrainian War due to keeping oil prices too high.
Trump said that “if the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately.”
Asked about Trump’s comments in a conference call with reporters on Friday, January 24, 2025, Kremlin Spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov said, “The conflict doesn’t depend on oil prices.”
“This conflict is happening because of the threat to the Russian Federation’s national security, because of the threat to Russians who live in well known territories, and because of the complete refusal of the Americans and Europeans to listen to Russia’s concerns. It has nothing to do with oil prices.”
Dmitry Peskov
By “well known territories”, Peskov meant parts of eastern Ukraine that Russia has captured since the start of the war and claimed as its own, in actions that most countries at the United Nations have condemned as illegal.
Peskov also took issue with Trump’s assertion that Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was ready to strike a peace deal.
Asked to comment on Trump’s claim that Zelenskyy is ready for a deal, Peskov remarked, “Zelenskyy can’t be ready for a deal.”
“In order to reach a settlement it’s necessary to conduct talks, and Zelenskyy forbade himself to hold talks by his own decree.”
Dmitry Peskov
On Wednesday, January 22, 2025, Trump threatened Russia with more tariffs, taxes and sanctions if they don’t end the war.
Peskov said that the Kremlin was paying close attention to Trump’s statements, insisting that Moscow “remains ready for an equal dialogue, for a mutually respectful dialogue.”
“This dialogue took place between the two Presidents during Trump’s first presidency. And we are waiting for signals that we have not received yet.”
Dmitry Peskov
Russia Open To Nuclear Talks
Additionally, Russia said that it is open to negotiating nuclear disarmament.
Kremlin Spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov disclosed that the Russian government will work with Washington, but only if the nuclear weapons of the UK and France are on the negotiation table.
Peskov’s comments come in the aftermath of US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday that he wanted to work towards reducing nuclear arms.
Trump indicated that Russia and China could possibly support reducing their own nuclear arsenals. Peskov said, “We are certainly interested in starting the negotiation process as soon as possible.”
However, he also added that in the “current situation, all nuclear capacities need to be taken into account.”
“In particular, it’s impossible to hold a conversation without taking into consideration the nuclear capacities of France and the United Kingdom. The current realities make it necessary.
“So there is something to talk about, we need to talk. Time has been lost in many respects. We have spoken about such interest before, so the ball is in the court of the US, which has stopped all substantive contacts with our country.”
Dmitry Peskov
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them, is due to run out on February 5, 2026.
It is the last remaining pillar of nuclear arms control between the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.
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