US 'lacks political will' to negotiate with Russia

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS news agency on February 10 that the US has not shown any willingness to negotiate with Russia and appears to lack the "political will" to do so.

Mr Peskov made the statement when asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interview with conservative US journalist Tucker Carlson earlier this week would help convey Moscow’s views on various issues to Washington. “The US administration knows our position very well, they are absolutely aware of all the main points of Mr Putin,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

However, according to Mr. Peskov, the US has not shown a real willingness to participate in negotiations with Russia.

“It is not a question of knowing or not, but of wanting or not. Whether one wants to do something to enter the path of negotiations or not. We have not seen such a desire or political will for this in the United States,” Mr. Peskov emphasized.

However, according to Mr. Peskov, the interview with journalist Carlson created a great opportunity for the Russian President to convey his views to a wider Western audience.

“It is important to us that our president is heard. And if he is heard, that means more people will think about whether he is right or not. At least they will think,” he said when asked about the interest the interview has sparked.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the interview had provoked an “exaggerated” reaction from the US government and mainstream media, who rushed to warn the public not to watch it.

According to RT, this two-hour exchange, which mainly revolved around the relationship between Moscow and Kiev as well as the ongoing conflict, attracted more than 100 million views in just one day on Carlson's X social network account.

The interview, published on February 8, was the first between the Russian president and an American journalist since the Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022.

Hoang Bach