On Monday (August 4), the Kremlin responded to the recent nuclear attitudes of US President Donald Trump and called on all parties to limit the nuclear weapons. This is followed by Trump’s statement that he ordered two American nuclear submarines to move in response to the remarks of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about the risks of nuclear conflict.
“In general, of course, we would not want to participate in such a controversy and do not want to comment on it,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “We believe everyone should be very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric.”
No signs of escalation, says Moscow
Despite Trump’s notes, Moscow insisted that he did not consider the situation to escalate nuclear tension.
“We do not believe that we are talking about escalation now,” Peskov said, adding, “It is obvious that it is discussing very complex and very sensitive issues that many people perceive.”
Furthermore, it reduced the American relocation of submarines and noted: “American submarines are already in combat duties. It is an ongoing process, that’s the first thing.”
The Kremlin is silent about Medvedev’s provocation
Asked if the Kremlin recommended Medvedev to ease its inflammatory online rhetoric, Peskov refused to give a direct answer.
“Of course, the main thing is President Putin,” he said.
Trump threatens sanctions over Ukraine by war
The exchange of words comes at a tight diplomatic moment. Trump threatened fresh sanctions against Russia and his buyers of oil – including India and China – unless President Vladimir Putin agrees to end the ongoing war in Ukraine on Friday. The war has now entered its fourth year.
Despite Trump’s ultimatum, Putin claimed last week that Russia had momentum on the battlefield and said that peace interviews showed “some positive progress”, which signaled no significant shift in the attitude of Moscow.
Trump sends envoys for Moscow interviews
Trump sent his longtime collaborator Steve Witkoff to Moscow for the next round of unofficial diplomacy.
Witkoff, a real estate developer and Trump Ally, have met Putin during the previous visits, but still have to secure a breakthrough.
“We are always happy to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow and we are always glad that we have contacts with Mr. Witkoff,” Peskov said. “We consider them important, meaningful and very useful.”
However, the Kremlin did not confirm whether the trip to Moscow was at the invitation or what he hoped to get from the discussions.
Trump’s shifting tone to Putin
Although Trump appreciated Putin in the past, he recently expressed frustration from the ongoing Russian military campaign in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia has intensified the bomber raids in Ukrainian cities and three rounds of direct peaceful conversations in Turkey brought little progress over the exchange of prisoners and body.
(Tagstotranslate) Donald Trump
