‘Our subs outnumber theirs’: Russian lawmaker responds to US submarine redeployment

Moscow:  A senior Russian lawmaker said Russia has sufficient nuclear submarines deployed to counter the two American submarines reportedly dispatched by U.S. President Donald Trump near Russian waters, amid rising tensions between the two countries.

The Kremlin’s response follows Trump's statement suggesting two American submarines had been sent near Russia as a show of strength.

"The number of Russian nuclear submarines in the world's oceans is significantly higher than the American ones, and the subs that US President Donald Trump ordered to be redirected to the appropriate regions have long been under their control. So no response from the Russian Federation to the American leader's statement about the submarines is required," a senior Russian lawmaker, Viktor Vodolatsky, was quoted as saying by TASS.

Earlier on Friday, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he had ordered the redeployment of American submarines to “appropriate regions” in response to what he described as “extremely provocative statements” by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council.

"Let the two US subs sail, they have been in the crosshairs for a long time now," the Russian lawmaker said.

"A fundamental agreement that must be concluded between Russia and America so that the whole world calms down and stops talking about the beginning of World War III," he added.

Following the American leader's statements, the Moscow Exchange index plummeted 2,709.26 points (0.99%) by 08:01 pm Moscow time (10:31 pm IST) on Friday.

Earlier, responding to a media question over US State Department Secretary Marco Rubio's recent interview with Fox News, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia agrees with the US administration that a direct military confrontation between Moscow and Washington must not happen.

"While Europeans are hysterically pushing for Ukraine's integration into NATO and preparing for potential conflict with Russia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently reaffirmed a responsible stance, explicitly stating that a direct military confrontation between the United States and Russia must be avoided. We wholeheartedly concur with this position. Such shared understanding has been facilitated through constructive Russian-American dialogue," Lavrov said. PTI