The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russia, like the United States, is committed to strengthening its military while also seeking peace, following U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remarks to American forces.
In a speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Hegseth told hundreds of hastily gathered top generals and admirals Tuesday that the U.S. must “prepare for war” to “ensure peace.”
“We, too, are committed to strengthening our Armed Forces while fully supporting peace and remaining open to resolving all issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, through diplomatic and political means,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“The saying ‘if you want peace, prepare for war’ is well-known and often used by politicians,” he told reporters, adding that the Kremlin closely monitors statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In his speech at Quantico, Trump said he was disappointed in Russian President Vladimir Putin for failing to agree to end the war in Ukraine.
“I said to [Putin], ‘you know, you don’t look good. You’re four years fighting a war that should have taken a week. Are you a paper tiger?’” Trump said, repeating comments he made in a Sept. 22 social media post suggesting Ukraine could retake all its occupied territories.
Russia has vowed to continue its offensive in Ukraine and dismissed Trump’s description of the country as a “paper tiger” with a struggling economy.
Peskov told reporters Wednesday that Russian-Ukrainian negotiations had stalled, accusing Kyiv of “not rushing” to continue talks that began in Istanbul this summer.
AFP contributed reporting.
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