Following Russia’s successful test of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, President Donald Trump warned that the US has a nuclear-armed submarine just off the Russian coast.
“They know we have a nuclear submarine — the greatest in the world — right off their shores,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “It doesn’t have to go 8,000 miles.” He added that Russia is “not playing games with us. We’re not playing games with them either. We test missiles all the time.”
The President’s remarks followed Moscow’s announcement of the successful test of the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile. Russian officials said the missile traveled 8,700 miles and had a flight time of 15 hours. The Burevestnik, or what NATO has dubbed Skyfall, is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The missile test and threat from Trump come at a low point in US-Russian relations. Mowcow and Washington are engaged in a proxy war in Ukraine. Washington has imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow, reducing trade between the US and Russia.
Additionally, the US has scrapped most of its arms control agreements with Russia. The only existing pact limiting the nuclear arsenals of the world’s nuclear superpowers is New Start, and it will expire in February.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued the Burevestnik should not further deteriorate the US-Russian relationship. “There is nothing here that could or should further strain relations between Moscow and Washington, especially since they are already at a minimum,” he said. “So far, only the first tentative steps have been taken to bring these relations out of their previous state of stagnation.”
Following a phone call between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin this month, the American leader announced that he would hold a summit with his Russian counterpart in Hungary.
However, lower-level talks failed to make progress and the White House scrapped the meeting. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told reporters on Monday, “Ukraine is not responding to our initiatives, avoiding dialogue. Nothing has changed,” he said.
