Russia urges caution on Donald Trump's nuclear submarine posturing, urges caution

Mint

16 hours ago

The Kremlin responded on Monday (August 4) to US president Donald Trump's recent nuclear posturing, urging all sides to exercise restraint when discussing nuclear weapons. This follows Trump's statement that he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to reposition in response to remarks made by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev about the risks of nuclear conflict.
'In general, of course, we would not want to get involved in such a controversy and would not want to comment on it in any way,' Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. 'Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric.'
Despite Trump's remarks, Moscow insisted it did not view the situation as an escalation in nuclear tensions.
'We do not believe that we are talking about any escalation now,' Peskov said, adding, 'It is clear that very complex, very sensitive issues are being discussed, which, of course, are perceived very emotionally by many people.'
He further downplayed the US repositioning of submarines, noting, 'American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, that's the first thing.'
When asked whether the Kremlin had advised Medvedev to tone down his inflammatory online rhetoric, Peskov declined to give a direct answer.
'The main thing, of course, is the position of President Putin,' he said.
The exchange of words comes at a tense diplomatic moment. Trump has threatened fresh sanctions on Russia and its oil buyers—including India and China—unless President Vladimir Putin agrees to end the ongoing war in Ukraine by Friday. The war has now entered its fourth year.
Despite Trump's ultimatum, Putin last week claimed Russia had momentum on the battlefield and said peace talks had shown 'some positive progress,' signaling no major shift in Moscow's stance.
Trump has sent his longtime associate Steve Witkoff to Moscow for another round of unofficial diplomacy.
Witkoff, a real estate developer and Trump ally, has met Putin during past visits but is yet to secure any breakthrough.
'We are always happy to see Mr Witkoff in Moscow and we are always happy to have contacts with Mr Witkoff,' Peskov said. 'We consider them important, meaningful and very useful.'
However, the Kremlin did not confirm whether the trip was at Moscow's invitation or what it hoped to gain from the discussions.
Although Trump has praised Putin in the past, he has recently expressed frustration over Russia's ongoing military campaign in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia has intensified bombing raids on Ukrainian cities, and three rounds of direct peace talks in Turkey have yielded little progress beyond prisoner and body exchanges.