Russia says Trump's plan on Ukrainian settlement could serve as 'solid foundation'

MOSCOW

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that preliminary settlement proposals for Ukraine prepared by the administration of US President Donald Trump constitute "a solid foundation" for a final agreement.

Addressing a press briefing in Moscow, Peskov said Europe's current stance poses the primary obstacle to a settlement.

"We do not communicate with Europeans. We have no dialogue, not a single word. How can you determine the position of your colleagues on such a complex issue if you do not communicate with each other? This is our biggest problem," he said.

Comparing US and EU positions, Peskov said European countries talk of waging war until "the last Ukrainian," while the Trump administration is "making tremendous efforts" to settle the situation.

"Russia wants peace, but its concerns must be taken into account. We must achieve our goals, and we must eliminate the underlying causes of the military operation that we initiated," he stressed. "The Trump plan is a very good basis for this (settlement), and we hope that we will be able to stick to this basis."

Regarding President Vladimir Putin's meeting with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, scheduled for Tuesday evening, Peskov confirmed it would take place on Tuesday after 5 pm Moscow time (GMT1400 ).

On the topic of seizing Russia's frozen assets, Peskov accused Europeans of wanting to steal Russian funds to support Kyiv's "war machine."

"They (Europeans) are discussing the possibility of stealing Russian assets, which remain blocked in Europe. This is more than $200 billion," he emphasized.

Peskov dismissed remarks by European politicians about a Russian threat as "nonsense," saying: "They say they are afraid of Russia, that Russia is dangerous for Europe. But this is nonsense."

He pointed out that the weaponization of international payment systems has steadily increased the use of national currencies in global trade, a trend he expects to persist. He added that Russia is exploring alternative payment systems with other countries to avoid their use as political tools.

On Putin's Dec. 4-5 visit to India, Peskov said Moscow remains "the largest supplier of energy resources to India" at competitive prices and hopes to continue nuclear energy cooperation, focusing on developing bilateral ties free from external interference.

"What worries us is how we are going to continue and increase the volume of our bilateral business with India without letting anyone interfere. And this will definitely be discussed," he said.

Peskov argued that Russia's aim is to increase imports from India to address a trade imbalance, with trade conducted almost entirely in national currencies.

"We know that our Indian friends are concerned about this. By the way, we are jointly looking for opportunities to increase imports from India to Russia. We want to buy more goods from India," he said.