The Kremlin on Monday urged a tamping down of nuclear rhetoric after US President Donald Trump reacted to threats leveled by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on social media.
Medvedev took to social media last week, warning Trump of Russia’s nuclear capabilities after the US president shortened a imposed deadline for Moscow to enter ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine or face serious consequences.
Trump responded on Friday by announcing that two US “nuclear submarines” had been repositioned “in the appropriate regions” in response to his “highly inflammatory statements.”
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “Russia is very attentive to the topic of nuclear non-proliferation. And we believe that everyone should be very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric.”
Peskov added that Moscow has no interest in escalating the situation, noting it is clear that US nuclear submarines “are always on alert in any case,” suggesting Trump’s statement would not influence Kremlin behavior.
Medvedev, who served as Russian President from 2008-2012 and is now deputy chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, is widely seen as a provocateur for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has become known for releasing hardline statements since Moscow launched the war in Ukraine.
Trump has previously told Medvedev to “watch his words.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has leveled nuclear threats at Ukraine — which gave up its Soviet era nuclear arsenal in return for US, UK and Russian security assurances in 1994 — in an attempt to disrupt alliances between Kyiv, the West and NATO.
Trump, who said he would end Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine on his first day in office, is currently threatening unspecified sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not take steps to end the war by Friday — something Russian President Putin has been unwilling to do.
Trump has recently vented displeasure with Putin and has begun threatening India and China with “secondary tariffs” for their energy and economic ties with Russia.
On Sunday, Trump announced that he would be dispatching special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow on “Wednesday or Thursday” as the US administration continues in its efforts to secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Numerous previous meetings between Witkoff and Putin have so far not contributed towards Russia ending its ongoing invasion.
Asked about what he wanted Witkoff to achieve in Moscow, Trump said, “get a deal where people stop getting killed.” – DW.
