Kremlin Spokesman: Special telephone hotline created between Russia and the US is currently not in use
Washington: A Kremlin spokeswoman said Wednesday that the secret phone hotline between Russia and the US, established during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, is not in use at the moment, amid Moscow’s increased tensions with Washington and other western nations.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told Russian news agency TASS that the channel has not been used to communicate between the two nations.
Peskov said, “No,” when asked whether the hotline is still operational. The two presidents now have a dedicated, secure route for communication. Additionally, according to the Russian official news agency, “[it] even has the option of the video conference format.”
The most recent phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart occurred on February 12, 2022, according to the Kremlin’s official website.
On August 30, 1963, the Washington-Moscow hotline established for emergency negotiations between the USSR and the US had started up.
The line was utilized for emergencies during the Cold War, but in more recent years, the presidents of the United States and Russia spoke directly over the phone as needed.
According to TASS, there were media reports in 2016 that claimed that US President Barack Obama, who was then serving as president, had discussed the issue of cyber involvement in the US election via the “red phone.” The Kremlin refuted this, stating that the discussion took place over a standard closed line.
The Kremlin spokesperson said that even during the planning of the Russian-US meeting in Geneva, he was unable to get in touch with the press secretaries of Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
The Kremlin spokeswoman said that he is open to communication even if he does not know Karoline Leavitt, the campaign spokesperson who was named the next White House press secretary by incoming US President Donald Trump.
In a daily briefing on Wednesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh declined to comment on rumors that Ukraine had attacked Russia’s Bryansk Region with ATACMS missiles that the US had given. As she put it, “I don’t have a comment on that,”
A request for comment about the US authorization to launch deep attacks against Russia using ATACMS missiles was also turned down by Singh.
According to sources cited by the New York Times on November 17, US President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to utilize ATACMS missiles for more in-depth attacks within Russia.
This information was subsequently corroborated by Brian Nichols, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. Some EU nations also approved the use of their weaponry for further attacks within Russia, according to top EU ambassador Josep Borrell.
Ukraine launched six US-made ATACMS missiles into Russia’s Bryansk area on Tuesday, according to Russia. Five of the missiles were shot down by S-400 and Pantsir AA systems, while one caused a fire when its components landed in a military facility’s technical zone.
This event is noteworthy because it follows the decision by departing US President Joe Biden to authorize Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia. Russia fiercely denounced this decision as a major escalation of tensions and the United States’ participation in the war.
The Russian Foreign Ministry shared a post on X as follows: “Russia’s Defence Ministry: At 3.25 am, Ukrainian forces fired 6 US-produced ATACMS missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region.”
“Five missiles were shot down by S-400 and Pantsir AA systems, one was damaged, its fragments fell in the technical zone of a military facility, causing a fire,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
During a news briefing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also discussed the Ukrainian assault on Bryansk, stating, “Russia’s Bryansk Oblast is being targeted by ATACAMS. Without the assistance of American professionals and specialists, [the missiles] cannot be employed. We will respond appropriately, seeing this as a fundamentally new stage in the Western campaign against Russia.
Al Jazeera claims that while Washington gave Ukraine the first ATACMS long-range ballistic missiles last year, Kyiv was not permitted to utilize them for attacks deep into Russia.
Days after US President Joe Biden allegedly permitted Ukraine to fire US-supplied long-range American tactical ballistic missiles (ATACMS) deep into Russia, Putin signed a decree on Tuesday approving the nation’s updated nuclear doctrine, the Foundations of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence.
Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, has issued a warning, stating that the use of Western non-nuclear weapons against Russia might potentially result in a nuclear reaction under Russia’s revised nuclear strategy. He had previously said that the United States’ decision to let Ukraine to launch an assault deep into Russia using American missiles was a “qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions.”
