Be very careful with nuclear rhetoric: Russia warns Trump amid no escalation in tension

New Delhi: Russia on Monday responded to US President Donald Trump's statement about ordering a repositioning of American nuclear submarines and said that everyone should be careful while dishing out nuclear rhetoric.

At the beginning of August, Trump announced that he had directed two nuclear submarines to be deployed near Russian waters as a precautionary measure. In a post on Truth Social, the US President said, "I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that."

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, played down the significance of Trump's statements. He told reporters, "In this case, it is obvious that American submarines are already on combat duty. This is an ongoing process, that's the first thing."

He also said, "But 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. Of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric."

Peskov also said that to Russia, Trump's statement has not escalated nuclear tension. He said, "We do not believe that we are talking about any escalation now. It is clear that very complex, very sensitive issues are being discussed, which, of course, are perceived very emotionally by many people."

About whether former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been asked to tone down his online fight with Trump, Peskov declined to answer directly and said, "Listen, in every country, members of the leadership have different points of view on events that are taking place, different attitudes. There are people who are very, very tough-minded in the United States of America and in European countries, so this is always the case." He ended by asserting that every important decision in Russia has to be approved by President Vladimir Putin, and his opinion is important.