WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump mentioned on Friday (Aug 1) he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be repositioned close to Russian waters in response to current threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
“I’ve ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned within the applicable areas, simply in case these silly and inflammatory statements are extra than simply that,” Trump posted on social media.
He described Medvedev’s current remarks as “extremely provocative” and warned that “phrases are essential, and might usually result in unintended penalties. I hope this is not going to be a kind of cases.”
The transfer marks the most recent escalation in rhetoric between the 2 leaders, who’ve traded barbs over Russia’s ongoing conflict in Ukraine. On Tuesday, Trump gave Moscow a 10-day deadline to conform to a ceasefire or face new US tariffs on Russian oil and on nations that buy it.
Russia has not signaled any willingness to fulfill Trump’s circumstances and continues to advance its personal calls for for peace.
Medvedev, at the moment deputy chairman of Russia’s Safety Council, responded by accusing Trump of taking part in a “sport of ultimatums” and reminded the US chief of Russia’s legacy nuclear strike capabilities inherited from the Soviet Union.
The Kremlin has circuitously commented on Trump’s newest transfer, however Medvedev’s remarks had been extensively coated in Russian state media. As soon as seen as a extra reasonable determine, Medvedev has in recent times turn into one among Moscow’s most vocal anti-Western hardliners, usually issuing hawkish statements that Kremlin critics describe as reckless.
Nonetheless, some Western diplomats view Medvedev’s rhetoric as a window into broader pondering throughout the Kremlin’s senior coverage circles.
The deployment of submarines provides to mounting tensions as either side dig in over Ukraine and lift the stakes forward of Trump’s self-imposed ceasefire deadline.
