MOSCOW – The Kremlin said on Tuesday that pausing U.S. military aid to Ukraine would be the best contribution to the cause of peace, but cautioned that Russia needed to clarify the details of the move by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump has paused military aid to Ukraine following his clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week, a White House official said, deepening the fissure that has opened between the one-time allies.
Trump, who spoke to Putin on February 12 and expressed a desire to be remembered as a “peace maker”, has upended U.S. policy on Ukraine, saying that Kyiv has no cards left to play, and warning of risks of igniting World War Three.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was cautious on reports of a pause in U.S. aid and said the details needed to be seen.
“If this is true, then this is a decision that can really encourage the Kyiv regime to (come to) the peace process,” Peskov said.
“It is obvious that the United States has been the main supplier of this war so far. If the United States stops being (an arms supplier) or suspends these supplies, it will probably be the best contribution to the cause of peace.”
Peskov said that Russia welcomed Trump’s statements about his wish for peace in Ukraine.
“We hear his statement about his desire to bring peace to Ukraine, and this is welcome. We see certain things and receive certain information about the proposed actions in this direction. This is also welcome. But we will continue to see how the situation develops in reality,” Peskov said.
In parallel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled proposals to boost spending on defence in the EU, aiming to mobilise up to 800 billion euros ($840 billion), which the Kremlin reacted to as an attempt to “compensate Ukraine for the apparent loss of U.S. military aid.”
In remarks published on Tuesday by the RIA state news agency, the Kremlin spokesperson said that the next round of Russia-U.S. talks on ending the war in Ukraine is unlikely to happen before the embassies of both countries resume normal operations.
