US lifts Russia's ‘direct threat’ label in new security policy, Moscow welcomes ‘positive step’

THE Kremlin has welcomed the move by US President Donald Trump's administration to shake up its national security strategy and stop calling Russia a “direct threat,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

In the remarks, published by Russian news agency TASS on Sunday, Peskov called the Trump administration's move positive.

US national security strategies have labelled Russia as a major threat since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, on Friday, the updated US policy adopted a softer tone and urged limited cooperation.

In a statement to the state-run news agency TASS, Peskov said the updated strategy dropped wording that described Russia as a direct threat and instead called for cooperation with Moscow on strategic stability issues.

Russia would examine the documents in the coming days to draw out a broader conclusion, the Kremlin spokesperson said, adding, “We considered this a positive step.”

“We certainly need to look at it more closely and analyse it,” Peskov said, according to news agency TASS, as reported by Reuters.

What does US national security strategy say?

The 29-page updated US national security strategy mentioned that Trump's foreign policy vision is going one of “flexible realism”. The US policy from now on will be defined by “what works for America” above all, the statement read.

The US strategy “is motivated above all by what works for America — or, in two words, ‘America First,’” the document said.

The document further said that the US would seek a quick resolution on Russia's war in Ukraine as it aimed to re-establish “strategic stability” with Moscow. However, the country still maintained that Russia's actions in Ukraine remained a central security concern, the document said.

The strategy was released amid a stalled US peace initiative, in which Washington presented a proposal that endorsed Russia's main demands in the nearly four-year-old war.

Trump has often made positive and admiring comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin, prompting critics to accuse him of being soft on Moscow even as his administration maintained sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine.

European allies, reliant on US military support to deter Russia, have watched the shift closely and voiced concern that softer US language might weaken efforts to confront Moscow as the war in Ukraine continues.

This is the first national security strategy, a document the administration is required by law to release, since the Republican president's return to office in January.