Kremlin spokesman says Putin hoping to work with a 'more constructive' U.S. president

A spokesman for the Kremlin on Friday said that President Vladimir Putin would like to see a U.S. president who is “more constructive” toward Russia and understands “the importance of dialogue.”

The comments came from Dmitry Peskov during a one-on-one interview with NBC News. When asked if Putin was prepared to work with Donald Trump if he is elected president again next year, he replied that Russia could work with “anyone who will understand that from now on, you have to be more careful with Russia and you have to take into account its concerns.”

Without mentioning former President Trump by name, or stating whether or not President Joe Biden would fit that bill, Peskov did challenge Trump’s claim that if he were president he would end the war with Ukraine in one day, saying it is “too complicated” to be able to be resolved that easily.  

The current war began when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. There was much optimism in the West that Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive this year could be a turning point in the war, but instead it has increasingly become a quagmire in which a clear path to victory for either side appears unlikely.

Regarding Biden, Peskov said that the U.S. and the West were sending conflicting messages to Ukraine about the support it will receive, and that the U.S. was, as a result, unnecessarily prolonging the war.

"You are telling them — 'go and die,'" Peskov said of the U.S. "'Don’t worry, we will give you enough money and enough armaments, but you should go and die.' And you know pretty well that they cannot win." 

Peskov warned that the world is "less safe than it used to be" when Washington and Moscow were still talking prior to the invasion by Russia.

While Russia calls its actions a special military operation, Peskov said that the West is waging a war against Russia, citing the “direct” involvement of foreign countries and economic sanctions against Russia, according to NBC News. 

“If it’s not a war, then how would you like to call it?” Peskov said. “We call it war.”