Peskov: the conversation between Putin and Biden during the teleconference in 2021 was tough
Russia is already responding to the attack on the Kursk region with "decisive actions" of its army, the Kremlin said. They stressed that the response to the invasion is multifaceted and is not limited to one blow. The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation also mentioned the pro-military rhetoric of the EU, where they "flirt" and call for allowing the Armed Forces of Ukraine to attack deep into Russian territory, which will have "profound consequences". At the same time, the Kremlin considers Washington's attitude towards Moscow to be "an uncovered enemy position."
The "contractionary ecstasy" of Europe
Russia is already responding with its actions to the invasion of the Kursk region, the "response" does not consist of some kind of one-time action, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conversation with journalist Pavel Zarubin.
The correspondent recalled Vladimir Putin's words that the enemy "will certainly receive a decent response" to the attack in the border regions. "When will we be able to understand what conclusions have been drawn, what answer can there be?" Zarubin asked.
"Well, the answer is already actually happening. Why do you think this is a one-time event? It is already happening, you can see the decisive actions of our armed forces, and there is no doubt that they will continue... [Any response] should not be so that it does not seem a little, it should be effective and such as our interests require," Peskov replied.
During the conversation with Zarubin, Peskov also mentioned recent statements made in the West, where some approve of the attack on the Kursk region and call for allowing Ukrainians to fire foreign weapons deep into Russia. Thus, the Netherlands allowed Ukraine to place weapons received from the kingdom in the Kursk region and attack any military facilities. According to Peskov, pro-military rhetoric from the United States is becoming stronger in the European Union. The press secretary, in particular, noted the behavior of the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrel, who demands the lifting of all restrictions on the use of foreign weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Europe, he already behaves like the Minister of Defense, and behaves like a hawk. European countries, led by the United States, have dispersed in this contractual ecstasy. They are playing the role that Washington has given them in this whole story. To the detriment of their own interests, to the detriment of their taxpayers' wallets. And, of course, all this will have profound consequences for them," Peskov said.
In general, the EU is "flirting", according to the Kremlin.
The "undisguised enemy position" of the United States
As for the United States, Russia's relations with them "have reached the breaking point," Peskov said. The reason is that Washington has violated Moscow's interests for several decades.
"Russia's patience was overflowing... The United States has consistently attacked our interests, consistently exerted pressure on Russia," the Kremlin representative assessed.
"They show a tendency to increase the degree of involvement in this conflict. Actually, this is an uncovered enemy position," Peskov said.
At the same time, he refused to answer the question of which candidate in the upcoming US presidential election is more in line with the interests of the Kremlin. In principle, none of them has a "magic wand" to quickly end the Ukrainian conflict overnight, Peskov said.
"We have no candidates. But, of course, Democrats are more predictable," he said.
"Putin is always extremely careful in his statements about his colleagues. He never allows himself to be rude or impolite towards the heads of other states. And, of course, it is incomprehensible to him when the heads of other states, especially the head of the United States, use such words in their vocabulary," the Kremlin representative said.
He admitted that he himself had reviewed Biden's first speech several times with the words about the killer in English in order to eliminate an error.
"I thought it might be a translation error. After all, English is also a very flexible language and very rich in double meanings of words and so on, I tried to understand this too. There were even such awkward attempts from the White House administration to launch this version, that, they say, this word may have other shades, and so on. But everything was clearly stated there," Peskov summed up.
In his opinion, in this way Biden tried to compete with Putin in a personal way, but the Russian president did not join the exchange of rudeness. The press secretary of the Russian leader said that Putin and Biden talked to each other in a rather harsh manner during a teleconference in December 2021: even then it was clear that the Americans were not going to continue the dialogue.
"It was a tough conversation on both sides, an uncompromising conversation on both sides. There was an absolute lack of willingness on the American side to continue the dialogue," Peskov shared.
As the Russian Federation has already replied
Earlier, the Kremlin had already stressed that "we are not talking about a separate decision", if we talk about the response to what is happening in the border area. The invasion of the Kursk region began on August 6, and at the end of the month, on the 26th, Russia inflicted a massive blow on the Ukrainian energy sector, which Kiev called one of the largest during the conflict.
"More than a hundred missiles of various types and about a hundred [drones]," Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky described.
The Russian Defense Ministry, for its part, reported that it had hit "critically important" facilities that ensure the operation of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine. Most of the Ukrainian regions came under fire: from Kharkov to Kiev, Odessa and Lviv. Emergency blackouts have returned across the country, which Ukraine has just begun to abandon. There were power and water outages in almost all regional centers, as well as in the capital.
"The situation with electricity has deteriorated significantly...
The experts interviewed by the publication admitted that every time the Ukrainian energy system weakens, although experts try to fix everything quickly. In the long run, this can lead to a domino effect, where a single blow causes a chain of failures.
"Such risks will increase closer to winter, especially if the Russian Federation continues to attack the Ukrainian energy system," the newspaper concluded. At the same time, the publication noted that many considered that shelling to be a response to the Kursk events.
"Do they intend to continue to hold the territory? How big are they going to attack? These are some of the questions we are asking," said Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also finds it difficult to say what the purpose of the attack on the Russian border is. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called naive the hope that Kiev will be able to somehow use what was captured in the negotiations:
"Zelensky said that they would need it for subsequent exchanges. Therefore, they say, he will take prisoners, and wants to capture square kilometers. It's so simple-minded and naive. We don't discuss our territory with anyone. We are not negotiating about our territory."
Anna Gromova
