The Kremlin accuses the U.S. of ‘economic war,’ but looks ahead to talks with Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s spokesman on Wednesday accused the United States of declaring “an economic war” against Russia, but described an upcoming meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers as a key step toward resolving the military conflict.
A meeting scheduled for Thursday in Turkey between Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia and his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, will be the first face-to-face encounter between the countries’ top diplomats in the nearly two weeks since Russian forces invaded Ukraine.
The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, described the meeting, which will take place in the Turkish resort of Antalya, as “a very important continuation of the negotiation process.”
After three rounds of talks, the two sides have failed to find a resolution...
“The Russian position has been formulated and relayed to the Ukrainian negotiators,” Mr. Peskov said. “We are interested in having new rounds of contacts as quickly as possible.”
Russian officials have been sending mixed signals on what Moscow sees as a possible resolution of its military offensive. Ever since President Vladimir V. Putin ordered Russian troops to cross the Ukrainian border, Russian officials have kept their goals in the war vague and shifting.
... Top U.S. intelligence officials said on Tuesday that Mr. Putin had been unsettled by the challenging (sic) facing his military, including the intensity of Ukrainian resistance. But they said he was nevertheless determined to succeed.
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...Peskov told reporters that the Kremlin was considering how to respond to Western sanctions against Russia, saying they were creating havoc in the global economy.
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“You see the bacchanalia, the hostile bacchanalia, which the West has sown — and that of course makes the situation very difficult and forces us to think seriously,” Mr. Peskov said.
We told you we were going to do this if you invaded, Peskov; Biden told Putin personally. You went ahead anyway. Putin has got no one to blame but himself.
