Kremlin welcomes Trump comments on Russia being 'a war machine' but says it remains clear-eyed
Adds quotes, details
MOSCOW, July 26 (Reuters) -The Kremlin on Friday welcomed Donald Trump's comments on Russia being "a war machine" that had defeated Napoleon and Hitler, but said it was not wearing rose-tinted spectacles when it came to the U.S. Republican presidential candidate.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was responding to a question about comments Trump said he had made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call on July 19.
Trump told Fox News later that he had told Zelenskiy that the war needed to be brought to an end.
"This is a war machine you're facing. That's what they (the Russians) do they fight wars. They beat Hitler. They beat Napoleon. We got to get this war over with," said Trump.
Commenting on Trump's remarks, Peskov said:
"It will probably be useful for most of the American audience to know that there are many glorious pages in the history of Russia, and indeed, probably few people in the U.S., we mean ordinary Americans, and maybe representatives of the so-called political establishment, know history in such depth."
But Peskov, when asked next about a commentary in the Wall Street Journal co-authored by Mike Pompeo, a former secretary of state under Trump, said the Kremlin was clear-eyed when it came to assessing what a Trump presidency could mean for Russia.
The Pompeo commentary suggested Trump enact tough new sanctions on Moscow if elected and step up help for Ukraine.
"We have never worn and do not wear rose-coloured spectacles. (Trump) is a representative of the U.S. political elite, which is now all absolutely suffering from total anti-Russian sentiment," said Peskov.
"When he was president, under Trump, the Americans started this sanctions race, under Trump a huge number of sanctions were imposed against our country, and in this respect he is not much different for us from everyone else.
"Maybe he shows a little more political wisdom in terms of maintaining channels of dialogue. But de facto it does not have a special impact on anything, and we should be aware of that," said Peskov.
Reporting by Dmitry Antonov
Editing by Andrew Osborn
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