This Monday, the Kremlin has launched a clear and direct warning to the United States after recent statements by former president Donald Trump, in which he announced the deployment of two nuclear submarines in response to an alleged Russian threat. The Moscow reaction has not been expected and has been, in a way, more a reminder than a threat: “In a nuclear war there can be no victors.”
These words, pronounced by Dmitri Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, are not new, but they charge special relevance at a time when geopolitical tension continues to rise steps. “This is surely the main postulate for which we are guided,” said Peskov in his traditional daily telephone press conference, in which he also called on caution when public statements are made about nuclear arsenals.
With this message, Russia puts on the table one of the principles that have guided, so far, the fragile balance of nuclear deterrence: the concept of insured mutual destruction. That is, a nuclear confrontation would not be won by anyone, but would imply catastrophic consequences on a global scale. Far from the bravates or the strategic movements that feed holders, the Russian reminder points to the need not to cross certain red lines.
The origin of this response is in the recent statements of Trump, who without offering concrete details about the place of deployment, said that two American nuclear submarines were already in position. For the Kremlin, this type of ads are nothing more than part of a continuous operational process that is not surprising: “American submarines were in service anyway,” Peskov replied, subtracting drama from the announcement.
This type of discursive exchanges are not new, but they do worry. Not because of what is said, but for what they represent: a rhetorical escalation that, in a context already tense, can increase distrust between powers with global destructive capacity. In these balances, diplomacy and moderation are not only desirable, but essential.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr95HBTQDEC
