MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. The Kremlin has described recent news about a fresh round of US sanctions against Russian companies as "echoes of hostility".
"In any case, these are echoes of unfriendly signs, to be precise, even hostility against our country," Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He noted that Moscow is monitoring information on sanctions "very closely".
Russia is still ready to foster constructive ties with the US, although Washington’s desire to do this is unstable, he added.
Peskov recalled President Vladimir Putin’s statements that Russia is ready to move further in bilateral ties with Washington as long as the US is ready and wishes to do this.
Judging by the new round of US sanctions against Russia, "this wish is unstable," he noted. "But we will be patient and determined to have constructive ties," Peskov stressed.
Trump's remarks about North Korea
Statements by US President Donald Trump that cooperation between Moscow and Washington can resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue correspond with the stance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he added.
"As for the US president’s message on social media, of course, this is in line with Putin’s repeated statements that closer ties between Russia and the US are not only in the interests of the two countries’ peoples, but also in the interests of global stability and security. This includes the interests in resolving regional conflicts and crises, among them the North Korean issue," he elaborated.
Peskov referred to "President Putin’s consistent stance that the Korean Peninsula should be free of nuclear weapons and denuclearized, that the current crisis should be resolved and that the only way of solving this problem is through political and diplomatic methods." He also recalled Putin’s remarks that "excessive bravado could steer the situation into a dead end and in no way contributes to a settlement."
The Kremlin representative also recalled Putin’s statements that "Russia is ready to make progress in our bilateral relations [between Russia and the US] insofar as our US counterparts will be ready for this and are willing to do this." "In the meantime, as far as we can see, this willingness is not so steady," he stated.
"However, we will be patient and continue to be committed to a constructive approach," Peskov added.