The Kremlin assured Friday that a regulation in Ukraine could not be facilitated by a drop in world oil prices, as suggested by US President Donald Trump.
Expressed by video from the White House at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said Thursday that the Opep+ Alliance of oil exporting countries shared the responsibility of the almost three-year conflict in Ukraine, because It maintained the too high oil prices.
“If the price fell, the Russian-Ukrainian war would end immediately,” said Trump. Energy sales are a large part of Russia’s income.
Asked about President Trump’s comments, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, asserted Moscow’s point of view that the Ukrainian conflict had been triggered by the West’s refusal to take into account security interests Russians.
“The conflict does not depend on the prices of oil,” said Peskov at a conference call with journalists.
“The conflict continues due to the national security threat of Russia, the threat to the Russians living in these territories and the refusal of the Americans and Europeans to listen to the security concerns of Russia. It is not linked to oil prices. ”
He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to get in touch with Mr. Trump.
M Peskov’s comments echo the statements of President Putin, according to which he had to send troops to Ukraine in February 2022 to postpone a threat to Russia’s security resulting from Ukraine’s membership project to NATO And to protect the Russian speakers who live there.
-Ukraine and the West denounced Moscow’s action as an act of uninsured aggression.
Ukraine is not ready, according to the Kremlin
President Trump also said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was ready to conclude a peace agreement, but the Russian president’s spokesman does not believe, recalling the Ukrainian leader’s previous decision to exclude any negotiation with Moscow.
“Zelensky cannot be ready for an agreement,” said Peskov, adding that “to achieve a regulation, it is necessary to carry out talks, and that Zelensky prohibited himself from holding talks by his own decree ».
Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday, threatened to impose heavy taxes, customs prices and sanctions on Russia if an agreement is not found to end the war in Ukraine.
Peskov said the Kremlin was closely followed by President Trump’s statements and noted that he had imposed a series of sanctions during his first mandate. He said Moscow “was ready for an equal dialogue, to a mutually respectful dialogue”.
“This dialogue took place between the two presidents during the first presidency of Trump. And we are expecting signals that we have not yet received, ”said Peskov.
