MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. Russian diesel flowing into global markets, the situation with assets in Europe, and Ukrainian strikes on energy facilities were the main topics Thursday's briefing by Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
TASS has compiled the key statements made by the Kremlin representative.
On the president’s schedule
- Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak via video link today at a congress of the All·Russian public organization "Business Russia."
- The remaining events on the head of state’s schedule will be non·public.
On Ukrainian strikes
- Ukraine didn't abide by the moratorium on energy site strikes: "I would like to remind you of yesterday’s statement by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. He said that, in fact, there was no moratorium on Ukraine’s part. Strikes on our refineries and energy sector facilities continued during those days. This is why there is no new development here."
- The vigorous efforts of the United States and its negotiators in the peace process "are being thwarted" by Ukraine and Vladimir Zelensky personally, as they are unwilling to pursue peace: "The Kiev regime continues to carry out strikes against these [energy] facilities, thereby undoubtedly coming into serious conflict with the peace efforts of the United States and American negotiators, who are indeed making very vigorous efforts to somehow move the peace process forward."
On Russian assets in Europe
- Moscow is not aware of alleged attempts by the United States to unblock Russian assets in Europe by taking them under its management, as reported by the Financial Times: "We know nothing about this. These are the issues on the agenda of the dialogue between the Americans and Europeans, as stated in media reports."
- "We don’t know how reliable these reports are."
On the situation in the oil market
- The situation on the global energy markets is now complicated and tenuous, which is due, among other things, to restrictions on the export of Russian oil and petroleum products: "Indeed, the energy markets and oil markets are currently on shaky ground globally. Many factors contribute to this downturn in the energy market. This includes, of course, Russia’s inability to bring significant volumes of its oil and petroleum products to the export markets."
- The Kremlin did not disclose the countries that expressed the desire to buy Russian diesel fuel in addition to the United States. "It’s hardly worth discussing this in public, for obvious reasons."
- The entry of Russian diesel into the global energy markets will contribute to their stabilization, although it won’t be able to stabilize them completely: "At the moment, fairly large quantities of diesel are being released. This diesel has begun to enter global markets, and this will have a certain positive effect on the stabilization of the oil markets. Although it won’t be able to fully stabilize them - this also needs to be taken into account."
- The position of European countries regarding the agreement between Russia and the United States on diesel is pernicious: "We continue to see a destructive position on the part of European countries. They not only did not welcome this deal, they subjected it to rather harsh criticism -- both personally US President Donald] Trump and similar decisions by the American administration."
On the prospects for Witkoff and Kushner’s visit to Russia
- There is currently no information about the alleged imminent visit to Russia by US emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner: "There is no information on this matter yet."
On the EU’s attempts to keep Russian athletes from competing internationally
- The European Union’s attempts to block Russian athletes’ access to international sports competitions run counter to the ideals of Olympism and the principle that sports should lie outside the framework of politics: "This goes against the ideals of Olympism; against the general understanding that sport should be outside of politics. As such, this is an attempt to politicize sport and is unacceptable from the perspective of Olympism and from the perspective of the status of the host country, the country that is hosting international competitions."
- By not allowing Russian athletes to participate in international competitions, the EU is trying to influence their outcome: "Here we can see attempts by certain countries to influence the outcome of the competitions by deliberately excluding the strongest athletes from the competitions."
- The Russian gymnasts who were denied Dutch visas to compete at the World Championship in Rotterdam are the best in the world, and everyone knows that: "I want to remind you that our gymnasts, those who were denied visas, are actually the strongest in the world, they went there to win the championship. Everyone in the know is aware of that."
- Moscow will continue talks with international sports federations to defend the interests of its athletes: "The Russian side will continue its contacts with international sports federations, with the IOC (International Olympic Committee - TASS), with other international sports authorities to protect the interests of our athletes.