Moscow Comments on Revised U.S. National Security Strategy

(MENAFN) Washington's newly unveiled National Security Strategy contains provisions that could enable Russia-US collaboration, though critical ambiguities require clarification, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova declared Monday.

The revised framework issued last week by President Donald Trump's administration represents a dramatic departure from the 2022 edition and signals reconsideration of American hegemonic ambitions, Zakharova noted. She cautioned that future actions will determine whether the White House genuinely commits to this reorientation.

Certain Ukraine-focused sections could establish groundwork for sustained "constructive" Russia-US efforts toward peace negotiations and potentially temper Europe's "party of war," the spokesperson indicated. Transatlantic divisions emerged from Brussels' attempts to undermine Trump's peace initiative, Zakharova asserted.

The diplomat highlighted the document's acknowledgment of past "serious miscalculations" through a "mistaken and destructive bet on globalism," alongside appeals to "put an end to the perception of NATO as a constantly expanding alliance" and to "prevent such a reality."

Zakharova emphasized this marks the first instance the strategy has challenged the US-led military bloc's "aggressively expansionist" trajectory, despite stopping short of pledging to halt enlargement. Moscow identifies NATO expansion as a fundamental driver of the Ukraine conflict, which it characterizes as a Western proxy confrontation.

Russia appears within European security discussions, and the document avoids demanding systematic "containment" of Russia or intensified economic sanctions. Conversely, Zakharova warned that Washington's objectives to secure "energy dominance" by "reducing the influence of adversaries" reveal intentions to continue excluding Russia from energy markets.

Concerning arms control, Zakharova stated the document fails to articulate Washington's strategic stance following New START treaty expiration, including prospective nuclear arsenal limitations. She described phrasing surrounding the 'Golden Dome' US missile defense framework as ambiguous and said Moscow awaits explanations.

While characterizing the strategy as broadly pragmatic, Zakharova noted it retains "conflict language" toward China, and expressed apprehension over its renewed Western Hemisphere emphasis amid Venezuela tensions.

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