The idea of discussing nuclear stability with the US is ridiculous, given that Washington is essentially waging a war against Moscow, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said.
In a statement on Sunday, US President Joe Biden argued that the world must continue making progress towards a complete nuclear disarmament. “The United States stands ready to engage in talks with Russia, China, and North Korea without preconditions to reduce the nuclear threat,” he stressed. Biden also claimed there is no reason to forestall progress on reducing nuclear arsenals.
Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, dismissed the offer out of hand, suggesting that Biden “blurted out” the statement due to a desire “to help his brainless protégé,” apparently referring to Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
According to the former Russian president, the proposal is yet “another instance of… insolence” on the part of the US.
“Think about it: the US is waging an almost full-scale (and certainly not hybrid) war against us and seeks our country’s strategic defeat… Negotiating nuclear arms reduction with America would be no more useful than negotiating a truce with [Nazi leader Adolf] Hitler in 1945.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also cast doubt on the possibility of nuclear talks, pointing out that “it is absolutely impossible to discuss the topic without linking it to all other security aspects,” given that “a war is being waged against Russia with the indirect and even direct involvement of nuclear powers such as the US, UK, and France.”
Top Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev also suggested that Biden’s overture sounds like run-of-the-mill campaign rhetoric ahead of the November US presidential election.
“The statement of the ‘lame duck’ and his desire to score PR-points on the Nobel Prize theme should hardly be taken as a serious invitation to negotiations,” he said, referring to the fact that Biden made his remarks while congratulating Nihon Hidankyo – a Japanese-based activist group seeking to abolish nuclear weapons – on winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
Russia and the US have the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, accounting for over 90% of this type of weapon. Rising tensions between the two nations, particularly over Ukraine, have caused the arms control architecture to fray. The New START Treaty, signed by former US President Barack Obama and Medvedev in 2010, which limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads, is the last remaining guardrail on atomic weapons.