KYIV — Moscow was going through a whirlwind of emotions Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump finally brought the hammer down on top Russian oil giants.
Trump’s sanctions triggered a wave of reactions from President Vladimir Putin’s allies, who suggested, in turn, that: the measures were evidence the White House is a warmonger not a peacemaker; the sanctions don’t hurt anyway, honest; and don’t forget about the sweet, sweet economic deals discussed on the Washington-Moscow leaders’ call last week.
The deniers included foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova — a top Kremlin propagandist — who said the sanctions on energy majors Rosneft and Lukoil were no big deal.
“As for us, we won’t face any particular difficulties,” Zakharova said, avoiding any mention of Trump. “In connection with the aforementioned decision by the U.S. Treasury, our country has developed a strong immunity to Western restrictions and will continue the steady development of its economic potential, including in the energy sector.”
Typically angry was former Russian president turned social media motormouth Dmitry Medvedev.
“If anyone had any illusions … The U.S. is our adversary, and their talkative ‘peacemaker’ has now entered the war against Russia. Yes, he’s not actively fighting on the side of Kyiv, but from now on it’s his conflict, not Biden’s,” Medvedev blasted on Telegram.
“Some will say he had no other choice, he was pressured by Congress and others. But this does not change the fact: this decision is an act of war against Russia. And Trump is now in full solidarity with crazy Europe,” he added.
During the foreign ministry press briefing, Zakharova said that Russia will still be open to connect with the U.S. State Department to implement agreements that were supposedly reached during the telephone conversation between Putin and Trump on Oct. 16.
Maximalist demands
Last week, Trump said both presidents agreed to meet for a peace summit in Budapest, where the U.S. wanted to push Russia toward a ceasefire in Ukraine, where it has persisted with a full-scale invasion since February 2022.
But senior Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, again brushed off talk of a truce, claiming the “root causes” of the war in Ukraine need to be eliminated.
That phrase is Kremlin shorthand for turfing out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and ensuring the country is demilitarized and never joins the NATO military alliance.
Moscow’s maximalist demands prompted the U.S. to postpone the Hungary summit — though officials in Budapest, who have maintained close ties with both the U.S. and Russia, remain hopeful.
“Preparations are ongoing and the only question is timing, not intention,” Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in a post on X.
But that hopeful posture doesn’t chime with the ongoing, trenchant rhetoric emerging from the Kremlin.
“We would like to reaffirm that the Russian Federation consistently proceeds from the non-negotiable nature of the goals of the special military operation as declared in February 2022,” Zakharova said, adding that Ukraine must be a neutral, non-aligned, non-nuclear state, “denazified and demilitarized,” as only that will ensure lasting peace.
Eva Hartog contributed to this report.
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