LOS ANGELES (OC).–Warning President Donald Trump about testing new nuclear weapons, the Kremlin said it would respond in kind if Trump proceeds with new atomic testing. When former President Joe Biden decided to fund proxy war with the Kremlin Feb. 24, 2022 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all diplomatic activity with Russia, including nuclear arms talks, ground to a halt. When Trump came to office, he made it a high priority to reset U.S. Russian relations, noting the importance of global cooperation on a host of strategic issues. Biden was the first-and-only U.S. president to go to war with the Kremlin, deciding that Ukraine war more important than the 80- years of cooperation with Russia since the end of WW II. Trump was determined to fix U.S.-Russian relations. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump misinterpreted Russia’s latest missile development.
Peskov thought that Trump misinterpreted Russian latest tests were not nuclear tests at all, no need for the U.S. to start testing nuclear weapons. Trump announced on Truth Social today that the U.S. would keep pace with new nuclear development in Russia, North Korea and other countries by testing more weapons in the future. Peskov wanted Trump to know that Russia was not testing a new atomic weapon. All the more reason why Trump must work to end the Ukraine War but not at the expense of his relations with the Russian Federation. Restoring strong U.S.-Russian relations is a top priority for Trump despite recent friction over ending the Ukraine War. Trump wanted Russian President Vladimir Putin to pause the air war so he could work on a deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky has showed little interest in settling the conflict.
Putin hasn’t resisted a peace settlement at all, just wants both sides to proceed methodically to a permanent settlement by using peace delegations to work out all the details for a final agreement. European Union [EU] has hit Putin with new sanctions, all because he won’t go along with an EU plan for a ceasefire. Zelensky and the EU don’t want to cede any land to Putin in a peace settlement. After over three-and-a-half years of war, Putin has right to collect his spoils after seizing some 25% of Ukraine sovereign territory. Any realistic peace plan would involve trading land-for-peace, something Zelensky and the EU have refused to do. Trump gets frustrated with Putin but his real frustration is with Zelensky and the EU for not entering into a realistic peace process to end the war. When it comes to Russia testing new weapon systems, Trump doesn’t need to start increasing sanctions or threatening to develop news atomic weapons.
U.S. Atomic Energy Agency hasn’t tested nuclear weapons since the 1990s, not something that needs to start happening now. “Until now, we were not aware that anyone was conducting tests,” Peskov said. “And if this somehow refers to the testing of the ‘Burevestjnik,” then this is definitely not a nuclear test,” challenging Trump’s logic in resuming U.S. nuclear testing. Putin confirmed recently about the “Burevestnik’ long range nuclear missile but not nuclear testing of any new atomic device. Threatening proliferation of nukes, Trump shows why it is more important than ever that the U.S. and Russia resume normal diplomatic relations to end the Ukraine War. Biden did more damage to U.S.-Russian relations than any president since the end of WW II. Starting up nuclear testing would be a dangerous step for both the United States and Russian Federation.
When it comes to the Ukraine War, Zelensky never understood that the U.S. needs strong, cooperative ties with the Russian Federation. When it came to Biden, he’s was too impaired to understand the value to U.S. foreign policy and national security of pragmatic relations with the Kremlin. Zelensky would like Trump to break off diplomatic relations with Moscow and feed him unlimited cash and weapons. Today’s statement about resuming nuclear testing from Trump underscores the importance of resuming nuclear nonproliferation talks with the Kremlin. If Zelensky had his way, the U.S. would break off diplomatic relations with Russia, endangering the EU and the world. Trump’s approach to Putin has yielded good results with Russia resuming normal diplomatic relations. Giving Zelensky more arms would jeopardize all of Trump hard work with Putin.
Returning to nuclear nonproliferation talks is important for the U.S. and Russian Federation. Working on cooperative, pragmatic relations is paramount for both countries and can’t be sacrificed because of Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia. Whatever problem Ukraine has with its Russian neighbor, the U.S. cannot be held responsible or adopt a foreign policy that interferes with U.S.-Russian relations. Putin needs to look to Trump as his global strategic partner not an adversary, like Zelensky sees him. Returning to nuclear nonproliferation talks is essential to global peace, not talking about escalation a nuclear arms race. Putin and Trump have an amicable relationship to restart nuclear nonproliferation talks at the earliest possible time. Trump wants Putin to know that he wants reciprocation when it comes to Ukraine or any other urgent global crisis.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
