Russia repels Trump’s claim on the “ paper tiger ” fighting warless war

On paper, there were many in Donald Trump’s comments at Rile Le Kremlin.

To begin with, his description of Russia as a “paper tiger” which had “fought aimlessly” in Ukraine.

Moscow won’t like it.

I remember when President Barack Obama described Russia as a “regional power”, as opposed to “regional power”: this has been considered a great insult here.

President Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine could reconquer the whole territory that Russia had seized will also have raised eyebrows in Moscow.

And Russian eyebrows will have increased even more after Trump’s answer to a journalist’s question.

“Do you think that NATO countries should cut down Russian planes if they enter their airspace?” The journalist asked.

“Yes, I do,” replied Trump.

However, the Kremlin’s initial response to all of this was rather retained.

Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov slowly dismissed the “paper tiger” insult.

“Russia is by no means a tiger”, Mr. Peskov at a Russian radio station. “It is more associated with a bear. And there is nothing like a paper bear.”

What about the suggestion that Kyiv could resume the lost territory?

“The assertion that Ukraine can reconquer something by fighting is wrong,” the spokesperson told journalists later.

During a conference call at the Kremlin to journalists, I ask Dmitry Peskov his reaction to Trump’s comments.

“Russia, in general, and President Putin, in particular, appreciate the political will of President Trump to continue working towards a peace regulation,” replied Peskov.

Very diplomatic.

Again, we have already seen it.

So often, when Trump publishes or expresses unexpected criticism of Russia and / or Putin, the Kremlin takes a deep inspiration and responds with something a little calmer, more sober than we expect.

But why?

Today’s edition of the Izvestiya newspaper suggests the first reason.

“It is important to remember that Trump is influenced by the last person he spoke to,” wrote Izvestiya. “In this case, it was Zelensky.”

In other words, Moscow believes that Donald Trump’s opinions on Ukraine are not fixed in stone and that he may be convinced to go to the point of view of Russia.

“We will have the opportunity to transmit our position on the American side,” Peskov told me. “Our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, can do so. He meets his counterpart (US Secretary of State Marco Rubio) in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.”

There may be another reason why Russia does not feel the need to shout.

The comments of President Trump, as critical as of Russia, did not contain any threat of additional sanctions; No ultimatum in Moscow; No deadline to make peace or deal with consequences.

The Kremlin will have noted this.

In addition, when asked by a journalist if he had always trusted Vladimir Putin, Trump replied:

“I will let you know in about a month.”

A month is long at war and in politics. I doubt that the Kremlin will be soaked in its hooves on such an answer.

But what about the threat of shooting Russian planes?

Kremlin’s response: denial.

“We hear hysteria about our military pilots who would have violated someone’s rules and airspace,” Peskov told me. “But all these claims are baseless and without evidence.”

Trump also painted an image of a Russian economy in disagreement.

The Kremlin also denied this.

But what is the state of the Russian economy?

It does not collapse. But it’s grinking. It may not be surprising after more than three years of international sanctions and massive state spending for war.

Russia’s budget deficit has increased, the drop in oil and gas. Many branches of the industry are struggling.

The recent wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries affected the internal fuel supply. Even in what is a highly controlled media landscape, Russian newspapers have reported fuel shortages in certain parts of the country.

“Russia is on the verge of a large -scale fuel crisis,” said Tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets last month.

There is no sign, however, that economic pressures influence the calculations of the Kremlin on the battlefield.

The Russian Ministry of Finance proposed on Wednesday increase the value added tax rate (VAT) by 20% to 22% compared to next year to help balance the state budget.

In a statement, the ministry said that the increase would mainly target defense and security financing.

For the moment, Vladimir Putin seems determined to continue the war in Ukraine.

No matter what Donald Trump can say.