"We will welcome action": how Moscow responded to Trump's words about the need to end the "arms race"

Moscow will welcome the implementation of US statements that Washington is ready to discuss an end to the arms race. Thus, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, commented on the words of the head of the White House, Donald Trump, who expressed his desire to sit down in the future at the negotiating table with Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping and stop the arms race.

“If the actions of our American counterparts will be correlated with such statements, this will most certainly be welcomed in Moscow,” RIA Novosti quotes Peskov.

In this regard, he recalled Putin’s comments on the possible withdrawal of the United States from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Missiles.

"Putin says that such an exit could provoke an arms race and could provoke a situation that would destabilize the situation," the Kremlin spokesman explained.

Peskov also added that at the meeting canceled on the initiative of Trump at the G20 summit in Argentina, two world leaders should have discussed the situation around the INF.

Earlier, on December 3, American President Donald Trump declared that the current “arms race” must be stopped through negotiations between the leaders of Russia, China and the United States. The head of the White House also called the country's “insane” spending on the needs of the Ministry of Defense.

“I’m sure that at some point in the future, Chairman Xi and I, together with Russian President Putin, will begin to discuss a real end to what has become a large-scale and uncontrolled arms race. The US has spent $ 716 billion this year. Madness! ”Trump tweeted.

Meanwhile, in August, when signing the Pentagon Budget Law, the American leader, on the contrary, expressed satisfaction with the allocation of such a large amount for defense.

“We tried to get money, but for years they did not give us money for the army. We have $ 700 billion. And next year, it has already been approved, we have $ 716 billion to give you the best planes and ships, tanks and missiles anywhere in the world, ”said Trump to the soldiers of the 10th US Mountain Division at a military base. Fort Drum in New York State.

In October, the head of the White House threatened to increase the US nuclear potential until the Russian Federation and the PRC "came to their senses." According to him, the United States has “more money than anyone,” and therefore other countries will not be able to with Washington.

In addition, Trump announced Washington’s intention to withdraw from the INF Treaty, which was concluded on December 8, 1987. According to the document, the parties refused to use and develop any type of ballistic and cruise missiles with a range from 500 to 5,500 km.

According to the US, Moscow allegedly violates the terms of the agreement. Meanwhile, the Russian side denies Washington’s accusations. Moreover, in Russia it has been repeatedly noted that the United States itself is in violation of the treaty. In particular, we are talking about the deployment of air defense systems launchers in Poland and Romania, which can be used to launch Tomahawk type cruise missiles.

“The decision of the United States to withdraw from the said treaty, of course, cannot and will not remain unanswered from our side,” President Vladimir Putin explained.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov noted, Washington will not change the decision to leave the INF Treaty any more - the Americans need only decide on the moment of launching the procedure.

Meanwhile, even the main European allies of the United States - the United Kingdom, Germany, France - are calling on them to remain in the INF Treaty, which is of fundamental importance for ensuring Euro-Atlantic security.

“The policy of double standards is traced”

Russia initially opposed various kinds of arms races, since it harms world stability and the development of the economies of states. This was announced by RT Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense and Security, Yuri Shvytkin.

“Another question is how much Trump’s words will coincide with his real deeds. Unfortunately, he has a policy of double standards on many issues. Now he declares the inadmissibility of an arms race, but earlier announced his withdrawal from the INF Treaty. Instead of meeting with the president of Russia, he found a reason not to meet. All these questions may eventually lead to a dead end. Donald Trump needs to take certain steps, not just statements, ”the MP said.

Such statements are peculiar to the current head of the White House. This opinion was expressed by the deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of RUDNF Nikita Danyuk.

“On the one hand, we see that it is destroying the established structure of global security and strategic stability, moreover, it accepts a number of conceptual documents of a strategic nature in the United States. Trump is likely to really contribute to the fact that we are waiting for the next arms race and the emergence of military-political tensions. However, he is trying to use the practice of double and triple standards, when, after various kinds of harsh and odious statements, it is necessary to reduce the intensity in the information space, ”the expert emphasized.

At the same time, the American leader is trying to show himself as a politician who thinks for the future, who allegedly cares about the world community, but, unfortunately, this is just rhetoric, according to Danyuk.

“It’s not necessary to expect that this kind of words will be followed by real changes in US military planning or in foreign policy activities. This is just an inalienable attribute of any American politician who tries to defend his own interests, hiding behind concerns about global security, and doing everything possible so that this security is put at risk. This is a trick to simply play once again for a wide audience, ”Danyuk believes.