Asked about US President Donald Trump's comment that Russia is open to the idea of a European peacekeeping force being deployed in Ukraine, the Kremlin spokesman today referred reporters to Trump's statement, in which he specified that such a step would be unacceptable to Moscow, Reuters and BTA report.
On Monday, Trump said that both he and Putin accept the idea of deploying peacekeeping forces. “Yes, he would accept that”, Trump said. “I specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with that“.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that Russia has large deposits of rare earth metals and is open to cooperation with the United States on their development, after President Vladimir Putin mentioned the possibility of concluding an agreement with American partners.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has its own plans to develop these resources, but is ready to cooperate with the United States when the political will to do so is shown. Putin also stressed that Russia is open to joint projects with American government and private partners, in the context of a future economic agreement between the two countries.
According to the US Geological Survey, Russia has the fifth largest reserves of rare earth metals in the world, after China, Brazil, India and Australia.
The Kremlin also expressed a positive opinion regarding the neutral position of the United States, expressed in the UN Security Council resolution adopted on Monday. According to the Kremlin, this position shows Washington's genuine desire to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine.
“We see that the United States is taking a much more balanced position, which really helps efforts aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine“, Peskov said. “We believe that such a balanced position speaks of a genuine desire to contribute to the settlement of the conflict“.
Peskov added that Europe has not yet adopted such a position, but he hopes that over time it will change. “As for the Europeans, the statements from Brussels and Kiev do not yet signal balance, but perhaps, based on contacts between the Europeans and the Americans, Europe will begin to move towards greater balance“, he added.