ISTANBUL
The Kremlin on Friday said the US is wrong to link economic cooperation with Russia to progress on resolving the war in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there remain significant opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and the US.
However, he said the American side is “skewing the entire situation toward a settlement around Ukraine.”
“We believe this is wrong, as our interests are being harmed, and not just ours, but also those of American companies. Because we're wasting time, and American companies, like ours, are missing out on profits they could already be earning,” Peskov said.
Peskov also dismissed suggestions that Russia is considering restricting flows through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) as leverage against the US.
Instead, he accused Ukraine of attempting to disrupt the pipeline through drone strikes, describing the actions as “energy blackmail.”
He said such actions harm not only Russian interests but also those of American and Kazakh companies involved in the project.
The CPC is the main export route for oil from the Caspian region to global markets. The pipeline stretches more than 1,500 kilometers (930 miles), linking oil fields in western Kazakhstan to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.
The consortium includes Russian, Kazakh and Western companies, including the US energy firm Chevron.
Commenting on the Nord Stream pipelines, which were damaged in explosions in September 2022 and previously delivered Russian natural gas to Europe, Peskov said their legal status remains “complex” under current sanctions.
He added that while many foreign companies have withdrawn from the project, ownership of the pipelines remains with Russian state energy company Gazprom.