Economic deal passes through Ukraine... Moscow reveals Washington's condition

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the United States continues to link the resumption of economic cooperation with Russia to reaching a settlement in Ukraine, noting that contacts between representatives of the two countries are still ongoing. He explained that expert-level communication continues, and that Russian President's envoy Kirill Dmitriev continues to discuss prospects for potential economic cooperation with US representatives, and reports to President Vladimir Putin. He considered that implementing joint economic projects would bring 'great benefits' to both countries. Regarding the settlement, he said that Ukraine 'has not come close to holding negotiations with Russia,' accusing Europe of continuing to obstruct the resumption of the negotiation process. Peskov criticized European defense trends, considering that EU countries spend nearly 5% of their budgets on creating European defense mechanisms, and described NATO as an organization originally founded 'as a mechanism for confrontation.'