Russia is ready to engage in equal dialogue with the United States and is waiting for a hint from Washington, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. In a post on Truth Social Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said he does not want to harm Russia and appealed for an immediate end to the Ukraine crisis.
Trump said he would enforce new sanctions and taxes on all Russian goods if he couldn’t make a deal with Russia. “If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other option but to put high levels of taxes, tariffs, and sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the US and various other participating countries,” Trump stated on his Truth Social network.
The US President said he was “not looking to harm Russia” and had “always maintained a very good relationship with President Putin,” a leader for whom he has expressed praise in the past.
“All of that being said, I’m going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big favour. Settle now, and stop this war. It’s only going to get worse.”
Trump further said, “Let’s get over this war, which never would have started if I were president. We can do it the simple way or the hard way, and the easy way is always better. It’s time to ‘make a deal. No more lives should be lost.”
Peskov said, “We are closely evaluating all the discourse, all the statements,” when asked about Trump’s comments.
“We remain open for dialogue, as President Vladimir Putin has reiterated,” he said, adding that Russia expects a potential dialogue to be equal and mutually respectful. Peskov also said Russia was still awaiting hints from the US side.
