Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson has stepped in to defend President Trump from criticism by Ukraine’s President Zelensky.
Zelensky said the U.S. president is living in a “disinformation bubble” created by Moscow following Trump’s social post blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion of his country.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Zelensky’s rhetoric was “inadmissable” and “leaves much to be desired.”
“Often representatives of the Ukrainian regime, especially in recent months, allow themselves to say absolutely unacceptable things about heads of other states,” Peskov said.
“Of course, for many heads of state about whom such statements are made, this is absolutely unacceptable,” he continued.
In his role as the Kremlin’s press secretary, Peskov is used to deflecting accusations about Russian involvement in election meddling, the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine by a Russian missile in 2014, and the poisoning of dissidents.
Days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Peskov falsely said that his country did not pose a threat to its neighbor, and that Russia would be the “last country in Europe” to start a war.
He also plays a key role in the Kremlin’s disinformation efforts including covering up Moscow’s role in the poisonings of Alexander Livinenko in London in 2006, Sergei Skripal and his daughter in 2018 and of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to a U.S. State Department profile.
Now, Peskov’s role apparently involves backing up President Trump’s false claims about Zelensky’s approval ratings.
Trump said that Zelensky, who he called a “moderately successful comedian,” was “very low in the Ukrainian polls” in his social post.
“The fact that Zelensky’s rating is falling is an absolutely obvious trend,” Peskov said, echoing Trump, although he refused to get into the details on the specific numbers.
The latest opinion polls show that Zelensky has a 57 percent approval rating in Ukraine, higher than Trump’s 46 percent average in the U.S.
Peskov also said the Kremlin “absolutely agrees” with the U.S. administration on Ukraine when it comes to starting negotiations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russia’s Sergey Lavrov, who is currently sanctioned in the U.S. for his role in the “unprovoked and unlawful” invasion of Ukraine, in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss the start of negotiations over the conflict.
Zelensky and leaders of other U.S. allies were reportedly not invited to the talks.
“[The U.S.] say it is necessary to establish peace as soon as possible and to do this through negotiations. We like this position more than the position of the previous administration,” Peskov said.
