KEY POINTS
- Peskov labeled Musk’s Ukraine-Russia peace plan “very positive”
- Peskov said peace in Ukraine is impossible without fulfilling Russia’s conditions
- Musk on Monday suggested that Russia should keep the annexed Crimean Peninsula
The Kremlin on Tuesday praised Tesla CEO Elon Musk for suggesting a four-point peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, after Kyiv criticized the business magnate for proposing terms that appeared to be rewarding Moscow.
Speaking in a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised Musk for “looking for a peaceful way out of” the war. He added that peace between Russia and Ukraine is “impossible” if Moscow’s conditions are not fulfilled.
“Of course, we noticed that this Musk initiative kept many in Europe, many in Ukraine, Poland and so on. In the Baltic republics. First of all, it kept the bots who took such an active part in the voting awake,” Peskov said, as quoted by RIA Novosti.
“In fact, it is very positive that a person like Elon Musk is looking for ways to find a peaceful way out of the situation. Unlike professional diplomats, Musk tries to find ways to achieve peace. And achieving peace without fulfilling Russia’s conditions is impossible.”
Other Russian officials also welcomed Musk’s peace plan. Former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev sent “kudos” to Musk and added that he is “anticipating” for the Tesla CEO to later claim Ukraine as an “artificial state.”
Kudos to @elonmusk! However, the shadowy agent has lost the cover. Deserves a new rank, fast.
His next tweet will run like, Ukraine is an artificial state. Anticipating…— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) October 3, 2022
In a Twitter poll he posted Monday, Musk argued that the only way Ukraine could reach peace with Russia is by allowing Moscow to keep the Crimea Peninsula that it annexed in 2004. Musk also proposed that Ukraine should drop its bid to join NATO and instead adopt a neutral status.
Musk’s peace plan also earned the ire of Ukrainian officials—including President Volodymyr Zelensky—when he suggested that Russia should redo the illegal “referendums” in four Ukrainian regions with the supervision of the UN.
“Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is the will of the people,” Musk wrote in the poll.
As of 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Musk’s Twitter poll had garnered more than 2.7 million votes. At least 59.1% said they were opposed to Musk’s “Ukraine-Russia peace” plan.
POOL via AFP / Britta Pedersen
