Russian senator responds to US general's statement on war with Russia

Mr. Milley, who recently retired as Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, previously commented that the possibility of a clash between Moscow and Washington in the next 10-15 years would increase if Russia won the conflict in Ukraine.

According to Pushkov, the US general's statement should be "taken seriously". "This statement reflects a trend in the US ruling circles, which will remain, despite the change of power in the White House", he noted. At the same time, the Russian senator pointed out the increasingly likely possibility that the US "will not have time to pay attention to a military conflict with Russia". He stressed that an increasing number of influential figures, starting with the Republican candidates for the US presidency - Donald Trump, Ron Desantis and Vivek Ramaswamy - identify China as the main opponent and competitor, not Russia, and advise not to finance Ukraine but to prepare for a possible conflict with Beijing over the Taiwan issue.

The second factor that reduces the likelihood of a direct conflict between the US and Russia, Mr. Pushkov said, is that there are currently “many challenges” that question US hegemony, including the development of the Southern Hemisphere toward the goal of gaining greater autonomy in world affairs.

“Conflict with Russia, the leading nuclear power, will not make America stronger but will weaken it in the face of these challenges,” the senator asserted. Mr. Pushkov pointed out the third factor: the need for the United States to intervene in several crises simultaneously to maintain its “global leadership role.”

"Today there are three crises - the Middle East, Ukraine and possibly the Far East. At present, the military conflict in Israel requires the United States to engage qualitatively more in the situation in the Middle East. All this means overstretching, even for a superpower like the United States," he concluded./.