Kremlin says US midterms are America's internal affair, hopes Trump keeps peace push on Ukraine

In brief

• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the US midterm elections an internal American matter.
• Moscow says it expects Trump to continue mediation on Ukraine and that a new trilateral round may take place soon.
• Democrats are set to control both chambers of Congress after Republicans lost the Senate majority.

Kremlin reaction to midterm defeat

Peskov said the Republican setback in the US midterm elections is an internal matter for the United States, and that Russia and the rest of the world are following the vote closely (В Кремле назвали выборы в Конгресс внутренним делом США, но намерены следить за ними – interfax.ru) (Песков назвал ситуацию с промежуточными выборами внутренним делом США – news.ru). He added that Russia sincerely expects Trump, who remains president, to keep up his mediation efforts on ending the war in Ukraine («Мы искренне рассчитываем, что Трамп продолжит свои миротворческие усилия». Кремль — о результатах промежуточных выборов в США – Meduza) (В Кремле рассказали, чего ждут от Трампа после поражения республиканцев на выборах в США – rtvi.com).

Trilateral talks and humanitarian track

According to Peskov, work is underway on a new round of trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States, which he said could take place soon. He also pointed to what he called successful humanitarian efforts by First Lady Melania Trump, noting that Ukraine's president had awarded her a Ukrainian state honor for women.

Democrats gain Congress

Republicans lost their majority in the Senate and Democrats will now control both chambers of Congress, according to reports. Asked whether the new Congress could constrain Trump, Peskov repeated that the matter was America's internal business. Trump said after the results that he keeps the power of veto over legislation passed by Congress and expressed confidence he could work effectively with Democrats.

Context from US reporting

Before the vote, reports said the White House had prepared a strategy to let Trump pursue his agenda if Democrats won majorities in both chambers, with planning starting in the spring. NATO members reportedly feared increased pressure from Trump on the alliance if Republicans lost, with analysts suggesting that limits on his domestic powers could push him to focus more on foreign policy.

The Kremlin statements were carried by state-linked outlets before being echoed by independent Russian media. No independent US source in these materials confirms Peskov's assessment of how the midterm results will affect the Ukraine talks.

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• Kremlin hopes Trump keeps pushing Ukraine peace talks after Democrats win Congress