Grandpa’s Statements at the Kremlin Briefing:

Grandpa’s statements at the Kremlin briefing:

▪️ “The Victory Day parade took place without military hardware not because of threats from Kyiv, but because the Russian Armed Forces must concentrate on the final defeat of the enemy as part of the SMO”;

▪️ If there had been attempts to disrupt the May 9 celebrations, Russia would have launched retaliatory strikes on central Kyiv. The Defense Ministry has so far not reported any provocations from the Ukrainian side on Victory Day;

▪️ After Kyiv’s threats, Russia did not limit itself to a warning from the Defense Ministry and a note from the Russian Foreign Ministry, but began work with its most important partners: China, India, and the US;

▪️ “We have no desire to worsen relations with anyone, and that could have happened because the decision-making centers in Kyiv are located near the diplomatic missions of a number of countries”;

▪️ “I have never refused a meeting. I am not proposing meetings, but if someone proposes one, then please. Whoever wants to meet, let them come to Moscow and we will meet”;

▪️ “A meeting can also take place in a third country. But only if final agreements are reached that will be рассчитаны on a long historical perspective”;

▪️ On May 5, we passed Ukraine a proposal for an exchange and sent to Ukraine a list of 500 servicemen currently in the Russian Federation; the Ukrainians directly said they were not ready for this exchange;

▪️ Moscow expects the Ukrainian side to agree to an exchange in the “1000 for 1000” format, but so far no proposals have come from Kyiv;

▪️ “I think the matter of the Ukrainian conflict is moving toward an end.” Peace talks are above all a matter for Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, Moscow is not against mediation assistance from the US;

▪️ “The globalist wing of the Western elites is fighting us with Ukrainian hands. They expected Russia to be crushingly defeated within a few months. It’s not working”;

▪️ The West has fallen into a rut it cannot get out of. In Europe they are already seeking contact with Russia, they understand that “playing the escalation game” in the Ukrainian conflict will cost them dearly;

▪️ Why did the Finns join NATO? In the hope that everything here would collapse for us and they could just snatch it up. Now they’re already building a border on the Sestra River. I’d make a gesture and say something, but I come from the cultural capital”;

▪️ The foreign leaders who came to Moscow for May 9 showed personal courage. “Not only Armenia, but other countries, good neighbors, were not here today either. I do not see anything unusual in that”;

▪️ The Armenian authorities could hold a referendum on joining the EU, and if the people support it, Russia could proceed along the path of a “soft, civilized, and mutually beneficial divorce”.