Kremlin tells US it takes two to tango

It is not Moscow that initiated the sanctions war with Washington, Dmitry Peskov has told TASS

Russia remains ready to normalize relations with the US, but it needs to see reciprocal steps from Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
The Americans are the ones to be held responsible for the deterioration of bilateral ties, Peskov told TASS news agency on Monday.

"It is not Russia that initiated this sanctions race. It was initiated by Washington,” he said. The spokesman added that “Russia, as president [Vladimir Putin] says, is open to normalization” with the US.

“But we cannot tango alone. And we do not intend to do so,” Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman's comments echoed those made by Putin at the Valdai international forum in Sochi earlier this month. The Russian president said at the time that Moscow is “open” to mending ties with Washington, but stressed that “much depends on the US, as we have not damaged our relationship with them, nor have we imposed restrictions or sanctions against them.”

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Speaking about the Ukraine conflict, Putin stressed that unlike Washington, Moscow has never attempted to fuel wars in countries that neighbor the US. “It remains unclear why the US feels justified in doing otherwise. I hope they will eventually recognize that such things should not be done if we wish to prevent global conflicts,” he said.

The Russian leader noted that US President-elect Donald Trump had “expressed similar sentiments” during his campaign. However, he added that “we will have to see how this will play out in practice.”

In his victory speech on November 6, Trump said that while in the White House he will “stop wars,” not start new ones. He had also previously promised to find a swift diplomatic solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, without offering any detailed plans.

The US President-elect also said that he had “good” relations with Putin and insisted the Russian president was among the world leaders who are at the “top of their game.”

Washington and its allies have imposed a record 22,000 sanctions on Moscow since 2014, when a Western-backed coup in Kiev prompted Crimea to rejoin Russia and led to a conflict between Ukraine and the Donbass republics.

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The number of curbs spiked after the launch of the special military operation in February 2022. Russian authorities have condemned the sanctions as illegal, responding with travel bans on Western officials and other measures.