Russia’s Embassy Urges Washington to Focus on Diplomacy and Productive Interaction

The Russian Embassy in the United States is calling on Washington to focus on productive cooperation for the sake of strengthening global stability and security instead of fueling anti-Russian sentiments, a statement posted on the Russian diplomatic mission’s Facebook page said, as reported by Russian news agency TASS.

The diplomats commented on an interview of Gen. Timothy Ray, head of U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command, published by Air Force Times on September 13. According to the diplomats, he equated the “threat” from Russia and China with the challenge posed by terrorism and linked this “danger” to the modernization of our nuclear forces.

“Remarkably, such claims are made while Washington continues large-scale and cost-intensive efforts to improve its own nuclear weaponry. At the same time, the U.S. is lowering the “threshold” of nuclear weapons use. In 2019, the Pentagon deployed low-yield W76-2 warheads on a number of Trident II SLBMs. Such actions increase the risk of potential conflict escalation,” the statement said.

“We call on our U.S. partners not to further fuel anti-Russian sentiments and focus on productive interaction for the sake of strengthening global stability and security,” the Russian diplomats emphasized.