“We approach any statements related to nuclear issues with great caution,” top spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Russia is firmly committed to nuclear non-proliferation, and we believe that all parties should exercise the utmost restraint when it comes to nuclear rhetoric,” The Moscow Times reported.
Trump said Friday that he had ordered the movement of two nuclear submarines after Medvedev, who served as president between 2008 and 2012, made a reference to a hypothetical Soviet doomsday device that could launch a nuclear counterstrike even if the country's leadership was wiped out.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said the submarines were “in the region,” without clarifying whether they were nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed or specifying where they had been deployed. US military submarine movements are classified.
Peskov downplayed Trump’s remarks, noting that US submarines are regularly deployed as part of standard operations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly weighed in on the heightened tensions.
The exchange came as Trump continued to press Moscow to end the war against Ukraine by Aug. 8 or face new sanctions. Trump has also floated the possibility of “secondary tariffs” that would target countries still trading with Russia, including China and India.
When asked about Trump’s comments over the weekend that the US was “totally prepared” for a potential nuclear standoff, Peskov told reporters that “there can be no winners in a nuclear war.”