Possibility of Putin-Trump conversation, US duplicity — topics of Peskov's briefing

MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. The possibility of a conversation between the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, the duplicity of the US position on Ukraine, as well as the latest statements by Trump, were the main topics of Thursday's briefing by the head of state's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov.

TASS has compiled the key statements from the Kremlin representative.

- US President Donald Trump, who had planned to call Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, was apparently busy after his meetings in Ankara and did not contact Moscow, but the Russian president is always glad to speak with his US counterpart: "Mr. Trump was apparently very busy after all his contacts in Ankara, so no one called yesterday."

- Putin "is open to dialogue."

- President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Donald Trump of the United States have managed to maintain a constructive dialogue despite their differences: "They maintain a truly constructive dialogue despite the differences they might have."

About the statements of the US leader

- Russia believes US President Donald Trump was mistaken in suggesting that an escalation of military operations between Russia and Ukraine could contribute to an early settlement: "This is a misconception. Rising tensions and further escalation cannot contribute to a peace process in any way."

- The more strikes Kiev carries out inside Russia, the broader the buffer zone Moscow will have to establish along the Ukrainian border: "The more strikes the Kiev regime carries out on our infrastructure facilities, the wider the security zones we will need to create. Further escalation will likely prolong the special military operation to some extent, although I cannot say by how much, and it will certainly force us to create a broader buffer security zone."

- US President Donald Trump's statements regarding a possible closure of the Ukrainian airspace are new developments; this topic has not been discussed before and needs to be thoroughly studied: "No one had previously raised the issue of closing the airspace. In any case, this would imply operational activities by NATO member states' armed forces over Ukrainian territory. This is precisely what the special military operation is intended to prevent. This [proposal] needs to be studied. It definitely needs to be thoroughly analyzed to understand how this issue has been worked out, between whom it has been worked out, etc."

About the US position on Ukraine

- Moscow perceives a duplicity in Washington's stance, with the United States simultaneously supplying weapons to Kiev while professing to support efforts toward peace: "We recognize discrepancies in the US position. On one hand, they continue to provide arms to the Kiev regime; on the other, unlike some other countries involved in this conflict, they claim to be committed to facilitating the peace process."

- Russia welcomes the United States' genuine willingness to help launch a peace process on Ukraine: "Still, unlike the Europeans, the United States maintains a willingness to help launch a peace process. Even if it sometimes misunderstands certain issues and makes mistakes, we believe this willingness is genuine, and we welcome it."

- Washington is actively continuing to supply weapons and military technologies to Kiev; Moscow is well aware of this and has no delusions: "As for Patriot, yes, it is an obvious fact: the United States generally continues to supply weapons and military technologies to Ukraine. This is indeed true and we know it. We are in no way delusional. Russian President [Vladimir] Putin is well aware of this."

- Moscow hopes that Washington will resume its efforts on the Ukrainian track after it deals with the situation around Iran: "We hope that after, despite the significant complication, the USs still manage to sort out the situation around Iran, it will be time for them to resume their efforts on the Ukrainian track."