The Kremlin, on Wednesday, issued a measured response following Donald Trump’s re-election as U.S. President, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov describing the U.S. as an “unfriendly” state engaged in “both directly and indirectly” hostile actions against Russia.
Relations remain at a historic low, according to Peskov, as Russian officials await clarity on Trump’s campaign promises to end the war in Ukraine.
While Trump, 78, has repeatedly promised to end the nearly three-year-old conflict between Russia and Ukraine, he has not provided specific details on how he intends to achieve this.
“Let us not forget that we are talking about an unfriendly country,” Peskov told reporters, adding that Trump’s statements on peace in Ukraine will only be assessed based on actions after his January 20 inauguration. Peskov further noted that he was unaware of any immediate plans by President Vladimir Putin to congratulate Trump formally.
The Russian Foreign Ministry echoed the cautious tone, stating that Moscow was not in any illusions about Trump’s potential policy changes, given the bipartisan consensus in Washington aimed at containing Russia.
The ministry emphasized, however, that Russia “will work with the new administration when it ‘takes up residence’ in the White House, fiercely defending Russian national interests and focusing on achieving all the set objectives of the special military operation [in Ukraine].”
According to the ministry, Russia’s conditions for a peace agreement remain “unchanged” and are well understood by Washington.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now a senior security official, opined that Trump’s return to power could have significant implications for Ukraine.
“Trump has one useful quality for us: as a businessman to the core, he mortally dislikes spending money on various hangers-on,” Medvedev stated. He suggested that Trump’s well-documented reluctance to fund allies could impact U.S. military aid to Ukraine, potentially weakening its reliance on American support.
Despite the Kremlin’s cautious approach, Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, adopted a somewhat hopeful stance. Dmitriev, a former Goldman Sachs banker who had previously contacted Trump’s team, suggested that Trump’s victory “opens up new opportunities for resetting relations between Russia and the United States.”
The war in Ukraine, sparked by Russia’s 2022 invasion, has led to one of the gravest confrontations between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Russian forces currently control approximately one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including Crimea—annexed by Moscow in 2014—along with significant portions of the Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.
Putin has indicated openness to peace negotiations, provided that Russia’s territorial gains are acknowledged, a position deemed unacceptable by the Ukrainian leadership. In recent comments, Trump expressed confidence that he could resolve the conflict swiftly, adding during a September meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that they would “resolve [the war] very quickly” if re-elected. Zelensky, who congratulated Trump on his electoral win via X (formerly Twitter), said he hoped Trump’s “peace through strength” approach would bring “just peace in Ukraine closer.”
Peskov concluded that Putin remains open to constructive dialogue with Washington based on “justice, equality, and mutual respect concerns.” However, Peskov cautioned that a reversal in Washington’s foreign policy would depend on Trump’s decisions after his inauguration. “It is practically impossible to make relations between the United States and Russia any worse,” Peskov said.
The upcoming months will test Trump’s promises of peace and Moscow’s willingness to find common ground.
