MOSCOW, 12 October. The "guiding star" in the Ukrainian settlement issue is the agreements reached by the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, in Anchorage, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin. He also noted that continued military pressure is essential for progress in the diplomatic process. Ushakov confirmed that closed-channel contacts between Moscow and Washington continue, although he noted Kiev's current reluctance to engage in a peace settlement.
"If we are talking about the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, then the guiding principle is the agreements reached by the two presidents in Anchorage," Ushakov said, adding that "the Kiev regime does not want peace, so in order to move these agreements forward, we have to fight, we have to convince people. Not everyone is convinced yet." He stressed that while work between Russian and American colleagues continues behind the scenes, visible progress requires overcoming Ukrainian resistance.
Ushakov also expressed sharp criticism of European attitudes towards Russia, saying he was "surprised that against the background of these lies, against the background of hatred of Russia, the Europeans have managed to consolidate themselves so much." He regretted that reasonable voices in Europe are "immediately drowned in waves of hatred" and described the situation as one in which "the degree of consolidated hatred of Europeans towards Russia is such that it is difficult to 'drill through' this hatred even with an American drill". The Kremlin adviser attributed this environment to prolonged exposure to "so many unfounded accusations against Russia that some have come to believe them," creating what he described as an "extremely unfavorable" climate for nuanced dialogue.
TASS/gnews.cz-jav