On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the arrest of former President Donald Trump, stating that it would be viewed as interference in the internal affairs of the United States.
On the other hand, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that the arrest of Trump was indicative of a “crisis of liberalism.”
During a press conference on Wednesday morning, Peskov was asked about Kremlin’s stance on the matter.
“We do not consider ourselves entitled to interfere in any way in the internal affairs of the United States. We believe that the United States is not entitled to interfere in our affairs, either. Therefore, we would not like to comment on this,” Peskov replied.
When asked about the recent news of Trump’s indictment by a Manhattan grand jury last Thursday, Peskov gave a similar response.
“I don’t think this is a topic for us to comment on,” the Kremlin spokesman stated last week. “These are internal U.S. processes that we do not consider necessary to comment on.”
On the other hand, during a Sputnik radio interview on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed that the arrest of Trump marked a significant moment in the collapse of the American model of government.
“This is called the crisis of liberalism. This is when a system which has been declared to be absolutely free, where there is nothing to restrain human outbursts, the expression of passions in any way, and this has been raised to the level of a cult,” she stated.
Zakharova added the Western model of liberal democracy “ends up devouring itself or rejecting itself.”
During another interview on Sputnik radio on Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov asserted that the relationship between the United States and Russia had progressed beyond the Cold War era and was now in “the phase of a hot conflict.”
“We are witnessing the direct involvement of that country in a hybrid war with Russia on various fronts,” he stated, referring among other things to efforts by the United States and its NATO allies to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion.
Ryabkov echoed Peskov’s points regarding Russia’s stance on foreign interference in its internal matters. He also cautioned that Moscow would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons if an attempt was made to overthrow the government of Vladimir Putin, who has been characterized as a dictator by some.
“The way our American opponents are recklessly, provocatively, and in many respects absolutely carelessly moving up the escalation ladder, the way they are blinded by their absolutely absurd certainty about their ability to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia makes one doubt their mental faculties and their common sense,” he said.
Ryabkov added Western nations are “playing with fire in the truest sense of the word,” meaning nuclear fire, by discussing regime change in Moscow or ignoring Russia’s security concerns.
“If this trend persists, we will be ready to take all measures and to use all means at our disposal in order to defend ourselves and ensure that our sovereignty be guaranteed,” he stated.
“Underestimation of this resolve of ours is perhaps the worst thing that can happen or, conversely, not happen in the minds of our adversaries. We caution them against making fatal mistakes,” he cautioned.
