EXCLUSIVE. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's Spokesman: "We want to achieve our goals. Peacefully or militarily."
On the streets of the capital or in the provinces, there are few stores that haven't prominently displayed stickers in their windows celebrating the 80th anniversary of 1945. "Proud of the Victory," they proclaim, referring to the date of May 9, which in Russia celebrates the surrender of Nazi Germany during the "Great Patriotic War," as World War II is known here. As the commemoration of this historic day approaches, the word "victory," omnipresent in public spaces, echoes another victory, already presented as such and widely discussed by the Russian media: that of the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian army.
While the West has been growing impatient since the re-election of President Donald Trump, who had imprudently promised to end the conflict in less than twenty-four hours, Russia is sticking to its guns. Regardless of who the Russians are talking to, on the eve of the May holidays, during which the Kremlin wants to project an image of calm and power, nothing should be able to change what appears, in the eyes of a majority of Russians, to be Vladimir Putin's legendary patience. Russian intransigence and patience are the essential messages delivered to us by Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin's loyal spokesman since 2008, who has not given an interview to a French media outlet since April 2022.
While France, as a member of the European Union, is considered by the Kremlin to be an "unfriendly" state for having imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion and, more generally, for its military support of Ukraine in the war, Vladimir Putin's spokesman met with Le Point for over an hour in a large meeting room of a presidential administration building near the Kremlin, in a complex of buildings formerly owned by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
During the interview, conducted in Russian and filmed entirely, Dmitry Peskov insisted that "the war aims have not been achieved" but that they "will be." The mention by Marco Rubio, the head of US diplomacy, on April 17 in Paris of "other priorities" for his country than the resolution of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, thus highlighting the possibility that the United States would disengage if diplomatic progress were not made, in no way changes this intransigence. The spokesman is addressing the entire world, but he is also flattering those within the Russian population who consider this inflexibility an asset and a source of pride.
At the same time, the Kremlin's spokesperson is warning everyone else, disappointed that the war has not yet been stopped and fearing that, since the end of the Easter truce (which the Russian side has not agreed to extend), the potential halt to the negotiation process could lead to a new military escalation.
However, while this intransigence pleases a core estimated at around 20% of the population, it exasperates many representatives of the elite, aware that their country's relations with the "collective West," to which they still consider themselves a part, are at an impasse. These elites want to return to "normal" living and business conditions and would find it hard to accept that the Kremlin would squander what they see as a unique opportunity to normalize relations between Moscow and Washington.
Finally, there is another segment of the Russian population that yearns for peace and fears that in the future they will have to experience this war even more directly in their own flesh. While a fourth meeting between Vladimir Putin and the US President's Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, is looming, as well as a third telephone conversation between the two presidents, little information has leaked from the three meetings in recent weeks. This proves, contrary to the official statement given by Dmitry Peskov, that these bilateral US-Russian exchanges are important.
Le Point: Why did the Russian military strike the city center of Sumy, Ukraine, with two missiles on the morning of April 13?
Dmitry Peskov: I want to remind you that thirty days ago, there was a temporary moratorium on energy infrastructure obtained by the Americans who negotiated with the Ukrainians, and Putin immediately ordered a halt to firing on energy targets in Ukraine. Since then, our military has respected this order. However, the Ukrainian side attacks our energy infrastructure on a daily basis. Either Ukraine doesn't want to respect this truce, or it can't.
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How so?
Zelensky, as is well known, doesn't control all of his divisions. Some pro-nationalist battalions don't listen to him, and that's a big problem.
The Russian Defense Ministry declared that it had targeted a gathering of Ukrainian military personnel. Yet, there were numerous civilian casualties. And the Russian military knew there would be so many casualties!
The Defense Ministry only targets military facilities and never civilian targets. This tragedy could have been avoided if the civil war hadn't started in 2014. Zelensky was elected president on the promise to stop this civil war. Did he? No. Ukraine didn't choose this path; on the contrary, it chose to drag Europe and America into war, and it presents itself as the center of everything anti-Russian on this Earth. Besides, President Trump just said something excellent about this…
What?
You had to be really weird to wage war on someone twenty times bigger than you and then spend your time begging everyone for missiles.
Why doesn't Vladimir Putin ever react when children die in Ukraine, even by mistake? It gives the impression that Russia doesn't mind…
And why don't the French president or the German chancellor react to the deaths of Russian children in Donbass? Why have they never reacted in the last ten years?
Why hasn't Russia accepted the total ceasefire as Donald Trump proposed?
Putin supports this idea, but before going any further, some specific questions need to be answered. If this ceasefire were to come into effect today, would France stop delivering munitions, cannons, missiles, and air defense systems to Kyiv tomorrow? And what about the United Kingdom? All military observers note that the dynamics on the front are in favor of Russia, which has the initiative on the ground. Before February 2022, when Putin proposed negotiations, we wanted to resolve this peacefully… Today, we talk about peace with the Americans, but the Europeans are demanding war! We want to achieve our goals. Peacefully or militarily, we will achieve them.
Have they not been achieved?
Not yet. And they haven't changed since the start of the war.
What are they?
The security of certain countries must not be achieved at the expense of the security of others. If you want to guarantee Ukraine's security and you draw it into NATO, you are violating Russia's security. We therefore need a neutral status for Ukraine. And recognition of the reality of the territories.
What are your demands in this regard?
Putin formulated them in July. I don't know why no one remembers them today. There are four regions included in our Constitution. The Ukrainian army must lay down its arms and withdraw from them. If it does, military operations will cease immediately.
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Are you demanding Zelensky's resignation?
It's not one of our demands, but even if an agreement were signed with Zelensky today, people could come forward later in Ukraine and legally challenge his legitimacy. This is in relation to martial law and certain articles of the Ukrainian Constitution...
You say that because there were no presidential elections in Ukraine in 2024?
Of course. The role of the Rada is enshrined in the Constitution, not that of the president.
You know very well that it is impossible to hold elections during a war!
You're reasoning de facto. We're reasoning de jure... And if someone questioned Zelensky's legitimacy, what would we do? Would we start again?
What, war?
Well, yes! We have no confidence in the Kyiv regime...
And the Ukrainians have no confidence in you...
They can't get rid of their Nazis... In Europe, you still haven't understood who these people are! You will understand one way or another, through the great pain they will inflict on you. Europe, including Germany, is turning a blind eye to the existence at its heart of a regime where pro-Nazi elements exert influence over the current government.
This may have been the case at one point in the past, but not today...
On the contrary, it's happening right now! This is the tragedy of Europeans!
Why do you accuse each other of not wanting peace?
What's stopping Ukraine from withdrawing militarily from these four regions and ceasing the fighting, as President Putin says?
What's stopping them is that they don't want to! Ukraine believes these are their territories!
So they don't want to acknowledge reality! Very well. What prevented them from signing the document in March 2022, in Istanbul, or rather, who prevented them when the situation on the ground was different? Boris Johnson! It wasn't Macron who convinced them to sign the document; he didn't tell them: "Don't listen to Boris Johnson, go ahead, sign this document so that we can conclude peace in Europe!" Yet, it was possible at the time! Since then, the reality on the ground has changed... And, whether they like it or not, they will have to acknowledge this new reality.
Can you guarantee that after the conclusion of a peace agreement, Russia will not attack, for example, the Baltic states?
Russia has no problems or territorial claims toward the Baltic states, even though Russians live there and their interests are constantly violated, as is the practice of the Russian language, something to which Brussels pays no attention.
Doesn't Russia intend to attack anyone?
No. We didn't have, and don't have, the slightest problem with Finland or Sweden, which joined NATO. Today, little by little, military infrastructure is being moved into Finnish territory. How is Russia reacting? It is taking measures to guarantee its security, those that our military deems necessary. But we have no potential for conflict. Fortunately, neither in the Baltic countries nor in Finland are Russians being fired upon from tanks or combat aircraft, as has been happening in Donbass since 2014. And in the Baltic states, there is no civil war where the regular army is exterminating Russians solely because they are Russian.
What concessions would Russia be willing to make to have the US and European sanctions lifted?
If you had met with Russian business representatives, you would know that they are ready to do anything to ensure that no sanctions are lifted. When foreign companies left our market, many niches became vacant. These were occupied by Russian entrepreneurs who invested and restarted production. Today, they have loans to repay. Why would they want foreigners to return? On the contrary, they demand that no one return!
You're not telling us that these sanctions are positive, are you?
No, of course they are bad and they harm us.
So it would be better if they didn't exist...
Perhaps, but they do. And even if the question of lifting them arises one day, certain economic processes have generated protective measures on the part of our companies. Yes, it would have been better not to be sanctioned, but we have built up a wealth of experience with sanctions... If they were lifted, others could be imposed on us, in a covert manner. We are so used to living under sanctions!
You're telling me we can live under sanctions...
That's not a central issue. In fact, the big problem is for Europe!
What do you mean?
Europe cannot exist and be competitive without two elements: cheap security and cheap energy. It obtained its security cheaply from the United States. As for cheap energy, it obtained it from Russia.
You mean it's no longer protected "on the cheap" by the United States?
Exactly, and it no longer has Russian gas either! So, we'll see how it manages... The economic indicators, at least for Germany, are not good. As for energy, France has proven itself more capable, with nuclear power, of looking to the long term; on the other hand, Germany, which is not so far from you, has closed all its nuclear reactors and no longer manufactures cheap cars. Deindustrialization has begun. Sanctions are always a double-edged sword. They harm us, but they also harm those who introduced them.
Would Russia be ready for Europe to be present at the negotiating table?
There is nothing to agree on since Europe wants war, not negotiations. We're not going to drag it into it by force! Moreover, so far, it has shown no signs of independence. It's as if all of Europe were working for the Biden administration! Europe is not sovereign; it has done what the Biden administration asked of it, as if every president, every prime minister, were its advisor. Until now, Washington has played the biggest role.
And now?
Now, some disagreements are emerging, and everything has been reversed: it's Washington that talks about peace, and it's the Europeans, who are responsible for ensuring future peace on their continent, who talk only about war.
Why is Moscow against the "coalition of the willing"?
Whether this coalition exists after or before the signing of an agreement is a detail for us. The most important thing is the location of these troops. Whether they are French, German, or Polish, our security is at stake because these soldiers will find themselves in a country whose leadership does not fully control its armed forces. Let's imagine that something happens beyond the control of the Kiev regime and that at the center of the incident is an armed group from a NATO country. Wouldn't that pose a threat to the entire world?
One gets the impression that Russia despises Europe and not the United States. Why?
Because the United States is the master, and Europe carefully carries out everything the master asks of it. Before the last three years, we had put on rose-colored glasses. Europe stopped collaborating with us on energy, against its own interests. European companies divest themselves of a large portion of their assets in Russia and started losing money. This has nothing to do with an economic decision; it's a political one. On Washington's orders, Europe began sawing off the branch it was sitting on... and many processes were initiated that we didn't like and that didn't fit with our way of life.
For example?
The Europeans wanted to teach us democracy, they started constantly criticizing Putin...
Did they give you lessons?
Exactly! Who? Romania, France, Moldova! Do you remember that French presidential candidate, that banker, the one who was caught in a Washington hotel with a woman...
Dominique Strauss-Kahn?
Yes, and after that, he didn't run in the presidential election, right? And now, we've gotten rid of Marine Le Pen, even though she's doing well in the polls. In Romania, a candidate wins the presidential election, but he's necessarily a bad candidate because he's willing to talk to Russia. So, he's ousted. Who condemned Romania for that? It's simple: we don't want to take any more lessons from the Europeans! We don't want anyone who behaves hypocritically to lecture us!
Why do the positions of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin seem so similar in terms of worldview and division of spheres of influence?
There are areas in which their positions are similar, but that doesn't mean they are similar in everything. Each defends the interests of their country above all else. What unites them is that they both understand the absurdity of refusing dialogue. What unites them is their willingness to resolve the most difficult issues through discussion. Exactly what was missing with the previous Biden administration. Under Biden and Obama, Americans also gave us lessons in democracy. But look at everything Trump and his family had to endure! Trump managed to come back because he is a powerful political leader, but also because he has a very strong personality!
Is that why Putin respects him?
Certainly, yes. Putin, being a strong man himself, appreciates strong men.
Does he respect Emmanuel Macron?
If you were from the UK, I would talk to you about Macron, but since you're French, I can't tell you anything... I remember very well our first contacts with Macron, when he organized a luncheon in Putin's honor at Versailles. We had high hopes at the time...
What happened?
If you were to ask Macron, he would tell you that Putin had unleashed a terrible aggression on European soil, etc. Since I'm Russian and work for President Putin, I can tell you that neither Macron nor the other European leaders wanted to listen to Putin when he told them that Russia had been cornered in terms of its security and that this was unacceptable.
You didn't expect that?
Not at all. First, the kyiv regime started the civil war, then there was this coup d'état in kyiv, and no one is talking about it...
Because, in the West, no one considers it a coup d'état! Have our relations ended because of this war?
For the moment, they are at a standstill. We are trying to rebuild our relations with the Americans, and believe me, it is very difficult.
What should the conditions be for a meeting between Putin and Trump?
This meeting must be productive. Both Trump and Putin want results. That is why preparatory work is being carried out.
Are bilateral relations between the two countries more important than peace in Ukraine?
They are two completely different issues. On the one hand, bilateral negotiations; on the other, the Ukrainian issue. But resolving the conflict with Ukraine without restoring normal relations between Washington and Moscow is impossible.
Could Trump announce new sanctions against Russia if it doesn't sign a ceasefire by the end of April?
Trump has never given a single date. And we don't think a deadline would be relevant. Because Putin supports the ceasefire.
According to some sources, Witkoff explained to Trump that, to easily obtain a ceasefire, Russia would have to be given control of the four regions it annexed in 2022.
This is exactly what Putin told Russian Foreign Ministry officials.
If Ukraine agreed, would the war be instantly over?
If Ukraine withdrew its troops from these four regions, yes. These four regions are all enshrined in our Constitution as an integral part of Russia.
You may have enshrined them, but militarily, you haven't obtained all four of these regions!
There remain territories in these regions which, in our view, are occupied by the current Kyiv regime.
Occupied! Why do you use that word?
Because, following the results of referendums, these territories have entered the administrative boundaries of the Russian Federation. From our perspective, this is both a de jure and de facto situation.
According to Reuters, in the draft rare earths agreement, the United States demanded that Ukraine control Gazprom's gas network, which linked Russia to Europe. Would this be beneficial to Russia?
If a new owner agreed to sign such a contract with Gazprom, why not? This is a purely commercial issue, which we have never politicized. Gazprom will certainly discuss it. We are ready to negotiate our gas, and we know that some countries in Europe want to continue buying it from us. Everything will be settled commercially.
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