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On Donald Trump's ‘dead economies’ remark, ex-Russia president's ‘Dead Hand’ comeback
US President Donald Trump had earlier said that India and Russia “can take their dead economies down together, for all I care”.
Former Russian President and deputy chairman of Russia's security council Dmitry Medvedev issued a warning to US President Donald Trump, reminding him of how dangerous those he labels 'dead' could be.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump had said, "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together."
The US President further singled out Medvedev in his post and took a swipe at him: "Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!"
Trump's remark on the two nations' economies came a day after he announced 25 per cent tariffs on India, plus a penalty for its purchases from Russia.
He had disapproved of India's defence deals with Russia and said, "Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE — ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!"
Meanwhile, Medvedev said that Trump's remarks only showed that Russia was doing everything right, and it should continue on the same path.
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"If some words from the former president of Russia trigger such a nervous reaction from the high-and-mighty president of the United States, then Russia is doing everything right and will continue to proceed along its own path," Medvedev said in a post on Telegram.
Responding to Trump's remarks on Russia's economy, Dmitry Medvedev said, "As for the talk about the 'dead economies' of India and Russia, and 'entering dangerous territory' - maybe he should recall his favourite movies about 'the walking dead', and also remember how dangerous the fabled 'Dead Hand', which doesn't even exist, could be."
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The 'Dead Hand' is a reference to a secret semi-automated Russian command system, which is designed to launch Moscow's nuclear missiles if its leadership is eliminated in a deadly strike by an enemy, a Reuters report said.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Medvedev has emerged as one of the Kremlin's most outspoken anti-Western leaders. Though some Kremlin critics ridicule him as an 'irresponsible loose canon', some Western diplomats say that his remarks give a flavour of thinking in Russia's policy-making circles.
Earlier as well, Trump had hit out at Medvedev, accusing him of throwing around the "N (nuclear) word" after Russian officials criticised the US strikes on Iran and said that a "number of countries" were ready to provide Iran with nuclear warheads. "I guess that's why Putin's 'THE BOSS'," Trump had said.
