Russia is a bear, not a ‘paper tiger’ – Kremlin to Trump

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has rejected US President Donald Trump’s description of Russia as “a paper tiger,” joking that the country is more commonly compared to a bear.

On Tuesday, following his meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, Trump said he believes that Kiev is “in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back,” if the EU and NATO continue to support it.

He compared Russia to a “paper tiger,” claiming that the country is in “BIG Economic trouble” and that “this is the time for Ukraine to act.”

In an interview with Russian business daily RBK on Wednesday, Peskov disagreed with the US leader. “Russia is not a tiger. Russia is more often associated with a bear. There are no such things as ‘paper bears,’ and Russia is a real bear,” he quipped.

Peskov added that the Russian economy has adapted to the ongoing conflict and has been able to provide its military with all the necessary equipment while acknowledging that it is facing certain “problems”, which are aggravated by unprecedented Western sanctions.

Trump is a “businessman,” he said, suggesting that he is trying to force the world to buy American oil and gas at a higher price. Still, Peskov stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin “highly values” Trump’s efforts to mediate the Ukraine conflict while describing their relationship as “warm.”

Talks between Russia and the US are moving slowly, he noted, explaining that Washington links the issue of restoring bilateral ties to the settlement of the Ukraine conflict.

Moscow remains open to seeking a peaceful resolution to the hostilities, Peskov said while Ukraine’s battlefield situation is deteriorating. “The dynamics show that for those who do not want to negotiate today, their position will be much worse tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,” the Kremlin spokesman said.