RUSSIA – The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Donald Trump‘s claim that Russia is a “paper tiger,” joking that Russia is not a tiger, but is associated with a bear.

“Russia is not a tiger. Russia is more often associated with a bear. There are no such things as ‘paper bears,’ and Russia is a real bear,” he said during an interview on Wednesday.

About Trump’s push for Europe to stop buying Russian gas and instead buy from the US, Peskov said that Trump is a businessman, thereby forcing the world to buy expensive oil and gas from the US for the economic interests of Washington.

“President Trump has never hidden his intention to ensure the economic interests of the United States. The simplest thing is to force the entire world to pay more for American oil and more for American liquefied natural gas,” Peskov said.

“He’s a businessman, and he wants to force Europeans to buy small crayfish for five rubles instead of big ones for three,” Peskov added.

On the security of Europe, he said that dealing with European security at the expense of Russia’s security is unacceptable.

“You cannot deal with European security at the expense of Russia‘s security,” emphasizing that any security talk without Russia or focused on a Russian detriment is at the very least “untenable.”

On Russia’s economy, Dmitry Peskov said that “macroeconomic stability in Russia is fully ensured.”

He added that the Russian economy has adapted and has been able to provide the military with required equipment despite of sanctions.

He later warned that what’s happening around Russia is war, stressing that Russia must win for the sake of its children and future.

“There’s a war going on. The SVO (Special Military Operation in Ukraine) is one thing, but what’s happening around us is war,” he said.

“We’re now at the most critical stage of the war, and it’s quite fateful. We need to win it for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and their future,” he added.

On the Ukraine conflict, he warned that the situation in the frontlines say different from what’s being parroted, saying that on current dynamics, the positions later will be worse for Ukraine.

“The dynamics (at the front), I repeat, show that for those who don’t want to negotiate now, the positions will be much worse tomorrow and the day after,” he said.

About the relationship between Putin and Trump, he said that their relationship allows them to be able to talk about sensitive issues and communicate freely about their national interests and positions.

“The relationship between the two presidents allows them to discuss fairly sensitive issues, including the Ukrainian settlement, and to convey to each other the key messages, so to speak, which enable them to understand the countries’ positions and the reasons for their particular positions,” Peskov said.