Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has said that the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, was open to talks with United States President Donald Trump regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
“Putin is ready. We are waiting for signals,” Peskov told journalists, signalling Russia’s willingness to engage in discussions. Both leaders have previously expressed interest in talks, though tensions remained high amid the prolonged war.
Trump, who recently took office, has warned Russia of harsher economic sanctions should Moscow fail to agree to end the conflict in Ukraine. While the US president has long touted his ability to broker peace, his latest approach includes economic pressure as a key strategy.
One of Trump’s proposed measures involved manipulating global oil prices to curb Russia’s war efforts. Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Thursday, he claimed that lowering the price of oil could force Russia into ending the war.
“If the price came down, the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately,” Trump stated, adding that he would engage Saudi Arabia and OPEC to push oil prices lower.
The Kremlin, however, dismissed Trump’s assertion that the war was tied to oil revenues. Peskov pushed back against the claim, arguing that the conflict was rooted in security concerns rather than economic factors.
“This conflict does not depend on oil prices,” Peskov stated, emphasising that Russia’s military actions are driven by broader geopolitical threats. He pointed to what he described as “threats to Russia’s national security” and “threats to Russians” living in Ukraine.
Peskov also criticised the United States and European nations for their unwillingness to engage with Russia’s concerns. “The lack of desire and complete refusal of Americans and Europeans to listen to Russia’s concerns” has contributed to the ongoing hostilities, he said.
While the possibility of a Putin-Trump meeting remained on the table, Peskov declined to speculate on when or how discussions might unfold, remarking that it was “hard to read coffee grounds” to predict the future.
