Kremlin Calls US-Russian Special Phone Channels To Relax Crisis Not Used

JAKARTA - A special telephone line between Russia and the United States created to defuse the crisis has so far not been used, the Kremlin said, as nuclear risks escalated due to rising tensions between Moscow and Washington.

The so-called special telephone line between Moscow and Washington was built in 1963 to reduce the misperception that sparked the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, by enabling direct communication between US and Russian leaders.

"We have a special safe route for communication between the two presidents, Russia and the United States. In addition, even for video communications," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency TASS.

But when asked if this channel was being used, he said, "not yet."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday lowered the threshold for nuclear attacks in response to various conventional attacks, days after reports said Washington had allowed Ukraine to use US-made weapons to strike deep into Russia.

Ukraine itself used US ATACMS missiles to attack Russian territory on Tuesday, utilizing a newly granted permit from US President Joe Biden's administration.

Moscow says the use of ATACMS, a long-range missile Washington has supplied to Ukraine so far, is a clear signal the West wants to increase the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is known to have long begged Washington and its NATO allies to allow the use of long-range weapons, saying weapons were needed to destroy military infrastructure and transport key to Russia's war efforts.

On the other hand, Moscow says such weapons cannot be launched without US direct operational support and use will make Washington a direct combat in the war, prompting Russia to retaliate.

Russian diplomats say the crisis between Moscow and Washington is now comparable to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when the two Cold War superpowers almost carried out a deliberate nuclear war, with the West making a mistake if they thought Russia would give in to Ukraine.

The Kremlin says Russia considers nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence and its updated nuclear doctrine intended to clarify to potential enemies, retaliation is inevitable if they attack Russia.

On Wednesday, Peskov told RIA news agency the West attempted to cause a strategic defeat to Russia by allowing Kyiv to attack deep into Russia with US-made weapons.

"And, of course, they use Ukraine as a tool in their hands to achieve this goal," Peskov said.