MOSCOW
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia needs to first analyze the minerals agreement signed last month between Ukraine and the US in order to comment on the deal itself.
On April 30, Ukraine and the US signed a minerals agreement, officially known as an economic partnership deal, in Washington, DC after months of tense negotiations, as well as a heated Oval Office exchange in February.
The agreement stipulates the establishment of a joint investment fund for Ukraine’s reconstruction, and will be financed, in part, by revenues gained from the extraction of natural resources.
“The agreement itself needs to be analyzed. I am not familiar with the text. Without delving into the details, it is impossible to comment on this agreement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.
Commenting on a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, Peskov said that Moscow believes such a meeting is “necessary.”
“It must be prepared accordingly, and this requires efforts at the most diverse expert levels. This requires continuing contacts between Moscow and Washington, which have been launched and are currently ongoing. There are no specifics on this matter yet,” he further said.
Peskov went on to say that Russia hopes India and Pakistan will be able to agree on measures to reduce the level of tension on the border between the two countries, adding that Moscow is following developments in the region with “great concern.”
He also commented on the rerun of Romania’s presidential election held over the weekend, claiming that the country’s voters were “deprived of the right to cast their vote for whoever they want.”
On Nov. 24, 2024, Romania held its first round of presidential elections, which were won by far-right candidate Calin Georgescu.
But Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the results, as well as a run-off scheduled for Dec. 8, saying the election process was manipulated in favor of Georgescu by a Russia-backed campaign. Moscow has denied the accusations.
AfD report in Germany hints ‘restrictive measures’
The Kremlin spokesman also commented on the issue of the German intelligence agency’s classification of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a “proven extremist group” last Friday.
Peskov said that, on the one hand, this is an “internal matter” for Germany, and that Moscow has “neither the right nor the intention to interfere.”
He went on to accuse Europe of imposing “restrictive measures” against political forces that “do not fit” the mainstream.
“The European political landscape itself is full of various restrictive measures against those political forces and individuals whose convictions do not fit into the dominant mainstream,” Peskov said.
He further said that Russia will closely monitor the words and actions of German Chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz, adding that his recent remarks do not signal his desire and readiness to normalize bilateral ties between Moscow and Berlin.
