Russia has nukes to destroy 50 of the biggest US cities: Writer

American writer and academic James Petras says there will not be any winners in a war between Russia and the United States and that Russians have sufficient nuclear weapons to destroy at least fifty of the biggest American cities.

US President Donald Trump reportedly told Russian President Vladimir Putin last week that if Washington and Moscow reignite the arms race, the United States would win it.

"If you want to have an arms race we can do that, but I'll win," Trump reportedly told his Russian counterpart during a phone call last week.

Putin's revelation of new nuclear-capable Russian weapons that can reach the United States "really got under the president's skin," one official told NBC News on Thursday.

Delivering his annual state of the nation speech in Moscow earlier this month, Putin expressed concerns about the new US nuclear posture which he said has lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

The new American policy allows the use of nuclear weapons "in response to a conventional attack or even a cyberthreat," the Russian president said, adding, "Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons only in response to a nuclear attack or an attack with other weapons of mass destruction against her or her allies, or a conventional attack against us that threatens the very existence of the state."

PressTV-Trump to Putin: Start arms race, US will win

Trump has reportedly told Putin that if Washington and Moscow reignite the arms race, the US would win it.

Petras said, “It’s well-known that Trump is accustomed to making a boast and very inflated statements about his prowess as an aggressive politician. But as we know in practice his challenges to engage in a war with Russia is pure nonsense, because nobody would be a winner.”

“It’s clear that the Russians have sufficient nuclear weapons to destroy at least fifty of the biggest cities in the United States. And it has demonstrated a capacity to develop the most modern weapons,” he added.

“Likewise, if one can draw a parallel, Trump claims that he can win a trade war with China. And of course the world public opinion is clearly against him once again because of China’s enormous growth and its capacity to expand into new markets and create an infrastructure that would link the world economy with China,” he stated.

“So I think Trump is making an idle boast. I’m not sure who he is trying to impress. But I think it’s a sign of growing militarism in the United States which threatens Russia, China, Iran and any other independent country,” noted the analyst , who has several books on Middle Eastern political issues.   

Tensions between Russia and the US have heightened in recent weeks, following the alleged nerve-agent poisoning of a former Russian double agent in Britain.

Western officials have blamed that attack on Moscow, though the Russian government has denied any role in it. Some analysts have said that the poisoning Sergei Skripal is a false flag operation orchestrated by MI5 with the complicity of the British press in order to demonize Russia.

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