MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/. The Kremlin will analyze the outcome of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but now it states that the practice of small mutual steps towards each other is not working, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
Moscow is receiving first preliminary information about the outcome of Trump’s talks with Kim. "Certainly, it needs to be further analyzed," Peskov told reporters. "The Kremlin had no chance to monitor the talks between Trump and Kim Jong-un because they were held behind closed doors," he added.
Official statements of President Trump and high-ranking White House representatives indicate that the negotiating process has not been interrupted and this is certainly positive, Peskov said. However, no significant agreements have been reached at the talks so far, according to preliminary information.
The Kremlin expects clarification why the sides had failed to achieve a deal, he added. "We don’t now details of this [US] position. We haven’t heard any stance voiced by North Korea’s representatives, we don’t know how exactly the US representatives outlined it. We still prefer to rely on the original sources to give any conclusions," the Kremlin spokesman stressed.
"Now there is such an impression that the practice of small mutual steps towards each other and showing flexibility towards each other based on these steps is still not working. As far as we understand, the lack of this practice and unreasonably high demands certainly may lead to creating troublesome moments in the negotiating process," Peskov stressed.
President @realDonaldTrump and @SecPompeo participate in a Press Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 28, 2019. pic.twitter.com/qgKX4cbuMd
— Department of State (@StateDept) 28 February 2019
The Kremlin spokesman recalled Moscow’s position: "Each step towards should show certain flexibility, concessions and small agreements. It is impossible to expect that such a challenging problem as [North Korea] can be solved at once."
Peskov gave no details on Moscow’s assistance in preparing for Trump’s meeting with the North Korean leader. "This is the assistance we were able to provide," he said.
A two-day summit between North Korea and the United States wrapped up in Hanoi on Thursday. The schedule of events was significantly changed and the two leaders refused to attend a joint working lunch. They also failed to sign the so-called Hanoi declaration. Donald Trump held a news conference two hours earlier than scheduled. The US leader left Vietnam also much earlier than planned.