ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Russian lawmakers on Wednesday said that recent outreach from US President Donald Trump stems from fears over Russia’s nuclear capabilities, saying the conflict with Moscow cannot be resolved through phone calls alone and requires direct negotiations. Senator Andrey Klimov of the Russian Federation Council said the war against Russia cannot be resolved through a few phone calls, stressing that negotiations, meetings, and expert consultations are needed, something that he claims the previous US administration avoided. “This war that has been deliberately waged against us for nearly 15 years is difficult to resolve with just two phone calls. Without negotiations, without meetings, and without expert consultations, this cannot be done at all. And the previous American administration didn't want to do it anyway,” Klimov told Rudaw’s Kamiz Shadadi in Moscow. His remarks come after a phone call on Tuesday between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, where the two discussed the war in Ukraine as well as global security, and bilateral ties. The Kremlin welcomed the call as progress, while Ukraine criticized it as an attempt to sideline Kyiv. Putin reportedly tied a possible ceasefire to halting Western arms to Ukraine - a condition Kyiv rejected. Evgeny Fedorov, a lawmaker in Russia’s State Duma from the ruling United Russia party, said Washington’s outreach is driven by concerns over Russia’s strategic nuclear capabilities. “This is a game, a game. America feared nuclear weapons. That's why his main goal now is solving the Russian issue, specifically its strategic nuclear weapons. Because only Russia can destroy America; neither China nor England can,” Fedorov told Rudaw. “In other words, today a gun is held to America's temple, and the fact that Trump insistently wanted these talks is an acknowledgment of this reality, and quite openly, and he doesn't even hide this fact.” Fedorov also claimed the world came dangerously close to escalation towards World War III, and credited Trump with attempting to de-escalate tensions through direct dialogue. “We all together entered a very dangerous situation where one more step could have opened the way to a third world war,” he said. “Trump and his team understand this well, which is why he is trying to establish direct communication. And he instructs his representatives to meet with our representatives.”
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