Kremlin on NATO Talks of Supply of Tanks to Ukraine: Anxiety Among Alliance Members Grows

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - There is a growing anxiety among the members of the NATO military alliance, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"Europe is tightrope-walking at the moment, and the exchange of statements between European capitals, including Warsaw that is already threatening Berlin with international isolation, and so on, all this, of course, also suggests that anxiety among the members of the alliance is constantly increasing, growing," Peskov said, commenting on the NATO discussions on the supply of tanks to Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Arkadiusz Mularczyk stated that Germany would fall into international isolation if it did not agree to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

The statements of the United States on the soon recognition of Wagner group as a criminal organization does not have any significance for Russia or for the group itself, Kremlin spokesman said.

"I don't think it has any practical significance for our country or, especially, for Wagner private military contractors," Peskov told a briefing.

On Friday, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told a briefing that the United States will soon designate the private military company Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organization and impose sanctions on its network.

Russian President Vladimir Putin still has no plans of meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi after the information about the storage of weapons by Ukrainians on the territories of nuclear power plants, but Russia is interested in continuing contacts, Peskov said.

"So far, the president has no plans for such a meeting, but at the same time, you know that the president said that we intend and are ready and interested in continuing contacts with him and the entire organization. This is extremely important," Peskov said, answering the question of whether it is worth reconsidering the view of a possible meeting with Grossi after the information that the Ukrainian military was storing weapons and ammunition in the territories of nuclear power plants.

According to the spokesman, contacts are not required at the highest level yet.

"The dialogue continues at the expert level. Our colleagues, counterparts of Mr. Grossi are ready for these contacts and are ready to implement them," Peskov said.

Last week, Peskov had already stated that Putin had no immediate plans to meet Grossi.

A possibility of Russian and Japan holding negotiations to conclude a peace treaty seem unlikely at present, Dmitry Peskov said.

"In fact, there is no meaningful dialogue at the moment. Of course, under these conditions, it is hardly possible to talk about such a possibility de facto," Peskov told reporters when asked if Russia is ready to communicate with Japan about the peace treaty.

Japan has very actively joined the group of states that are unfriendly to Russia and does not show constructiveness in the relations with Russia, the official added.

In his address to the parliament earlier in the day, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Tokyo remains committed to negotiating a peace treaty with Russia despite current tensions.