Trump calls Russia a 'paper tiger', Kremlin responds: 'We are real bears'
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on September 24 hit back at US President Donald Trump's comments calling Russia a "paper tiger", asserting that Russia is more like a "real bear". Mr. Peskov also sent a tough message to Ukraine, saying that Kiev's negotiating position would worsen if it continued to delay.
On September 23, after meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Donald Trump declared that Kiev "is well positioned to fight and take back all of Ukraine" if the EU and NATO continue to support it. He likened Russia to a "paper tiger", saying that Moscow is in "big economic trouble" and "it is time for Ukraine to act".
In an interview with Russian business daily RBK on September 24, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov disagreed with this assessment.
"Russia is not a tiger. Russia is often associated with a bear. There is no such thing as a 'paper bear', and Russia is a real bear," Mr. Peskov said wittily.
Mr Peskov admitted that the Russian economy was facing certain “problems”, exacerbated by unprecedented Western sanctions. However, he insisted the economy had adapted to the conflict and was capable of supplying all the equipment needed for the military.
Commenting on Mr Trump, Mr Peskov described the US president as a "businessman", saying he was trying to force the world to buy US oil and gas at higher prices.
However, the Kremlin spokesman stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin "appreciated" Mr Trump's efforts to mediate the Ukraine conflict and described their relationship as "warm".
Mr. Peskov also noted that negotiations between Russia and the US are progressing slowly, explaining that Washington always links the issue of restoring bilateral relations with resolving the conflict in Ukraine.
Finally, Mr. Peskov affirmed that Moscow still left open the possibility of finding a peaceful solution to the war, in the context of the deteriorating situation on the battlefield in Ukraine.
“The dynamics show that for those who do not want to negotiate today, their position will be much worse tomorrow or the day after,” the Kremlin spokesman warned.
