Kremlin: No link between Putin’s Greenland comments and US–Russia summit

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin’s remarks on Greenland should not be interpreted as a signal of an impending meeting with US President Donald Trump, stressing that there is no link between the two issues.

Speaking at a briefing, Peskov dismissed suggestions that Putin’s comments at a Security Council meeting regarding the possible price of purchasing Greenland pointed to preparations for a high-level Russia–US summit.

“I see no connection whatsoever between these two topics,” he said in response to a question on whether the remarks could indicate an upcoming meeting between the Russian and US leaders.

Peskov recalled Putin’s earlier statement distancing Russia from the issue altogether. “I would like to remind you of yesterday’s words by Putin: ‘Everything related to Greenland is not our business.’ We have many issues of our own. We need to defend our interests. We need to deal with the special military operation, economic development, address demographic challenges, and raise the level of development of domestic electronics,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

Commenting on the US-proposed “Board of Peace,” Peskov said that any funds transferred to the body are intended for humanitarian purposes, specifically the reconstruction of Palestine. “As President Putin said yesterday, this billion dollars through the ‘Board of Peace’ should go toward humanitarian purposes for the reconstruction of Palestine,” he emphasised.

At the same time, Peskov noted that transferring $1 billion to the US-formed council would not be possible without first unfreezing Russian assets held in the United States. He said the legal mechanism for such a contribution remains unclear. “How this [contribution] will be formalised legally is not yet clear; all of this needs to be discussed,” he said. He added that the process would inevitably require action from Washington. “Moreover, this requires unfreezing. That, of course, would require certain actions on the part of the United States.”

Peskov also declined to comment on the current stage of negotiations on Ukraine, particularly ahead of the visit to Moscow by US President’s special envoy Steven Witkoff. He said the Kremlin did not intend to provide assessments of the talks at this point. “We would not like to give any comments regarding the stage at which the negotiations currently stand,” he said, “especially on the eve of Witkoff’s arrival in Moscow and his meeting with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”

According to Peskov, Putin is scheduled to meet Witkoff later in the evening Moscow time, together with businessman Jared Kushner. While he did not specify the exact time, Peskov said the meeting would take place “definitely after 7–8 p.m.” He added that the discussions would continue on the issue of a Ukrainian settlement, along with other related topics.

Earlier, Witkoff had stated that the negotiating process was approaching its final phase and that only one issue remained unresolved.

By Tamilla Hasanova