Kamala Harris has previously claimed that the Russian leader would consume Donald Trump “for lunch”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has ridiculed US Vice President Kamala Harris’s pre-election claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin would “eat” President-elect Donald Trump for lunch.
Harris criticized Trump’s ideas about ending the conflict in Ukraine during the September presidential debate on ABC News, asserting that the Republican would simply abandon support for Kiev to gain favor with Putin.
The Russian leader “would eat you for lunch,” Harris told Trump.
Peskov was asked to comment on her statement at the 21st annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday.
“Putin doesn’t eat people,” the spokesman said with a smile.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he could end the Ukraine conflict in a day during his re-election campaign. Moscow has expressed skepticism that there is any “magic” solution to wrap up hostilities overnight.
Speaking at the Valdai Club on Thursday, Putin congratulated Trump on securing the US election victory. The Russian president noted that Trump’s pre-election statements regarding peace in Ukraine “deserve attention, at the very least.”
Putin also indicated he is open to receiving a phone call from Trump, adding that it “wouldn’t be beneath me to call him myself.”
Trump stated on Thursday that he has not yet spoken with Putin but expects they will likely communicate in the near future.
Moscow has not ruled out negotiations with Kiev but insists that Ukraine must acknowledge the “reality on the ground” that it will never regain control of its former regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye, as well as Crimea, all of which held referendums to join Russia. Moscow also insists that it will pursue the goals of its military operation: a denazified, demilitarized, and neutral Ukraine, outside of NATO and any other military blocs.
