Ambassador Andrei Kelin's interview to Christiane Amanpour for CNN, 4 August, 2023

I like his final laugh in her face at the end! Russian Embassy in London Watch the Ambassador Andrei Kelin’s interview to Christiane Amanpour for CNN. Main topics: - Conflict in Ukraine - Black Sea Grain Initiative - Ukrainian counteroffensive - Yevgeny Prigozhin’s statements - Ukrainian drone attacks in Moscow - Prospects of peace talks Ambassador Andrei Kelin’s key statements: ▪ Russia is ready to work with any elected US president. Yet it is important for that leader to guide the US in the right direction. ▪ The Russian part of the «package» of the Black Sea Grain Initiative had not been implemented, while on the Ukrainian part only 3% of Ukrainian grain went to the poorest countries. Therefore, the deal did not work. ▪ Since the Ukrainian counteroffensive started, Kiev has suffered serious losses – 21,000 in July and 26,000 in June. All while achieving nothing. ▪ I have not seen a single UK’s Challenger tank in action in Ukraine. ▪ Sooner or later, UK government should recognise the truth that the counteroffensive is not a success. ▪ Recent Ukrainian drone attacks in Moscow are terrorist attacks, by any definition. Ukraine deliberately targeted purely civilian infrastructure. ▪ Russia does not target civilian infrastructure. The damage, incl recently in Odessa and Krivoy Rog, comes from Ukrainian air-defence missiles’ debris – because the Kiev regime places these systems in towns and cities, contrary to humanitarian law. ▪ It was a big political mistake for Ukraine to combat Russian-speaking population and Russia itself. ▪ The attempted mutiny by Wagner group had no effect on President Putin’s ratings, if not even raised them. 77% of Russia’s population trust Putin and 76% support his policy. ▪ 2500 children were evacuated to Russia from orphanages close to the frontline. As of now, 2000 have already returned thanks to the frontline being pushed back by Russian troops. ▪ Russia is ready for a negotiated solution to the Ukrainian crisis. However, Ukraine needs to show real desire for a negotiated peace. It should be a realistic deal.