Russia welcomes change to its 'label' in new US security strategy: 'We consider this a positive step'

The Kremlin welcomed the decision by US President Donald Trump's administration to revise its national security strategy and no longer consider Russia a “direct threat”, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday, according to TASS and Reuters.

Since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, US strategies have singled out Moscow as a major threat. However, the updated US policy announced on Friday takes a more moderate tone, urging limited cooperation.

Speaking to Russia's state-run news agency, Peskov said the updated American strategy dropped wording describing Russia as a direct threat and instead called for cooperation with Moscow on matters of strategic stability.

“We consider this a positive step,” he said, adding that Moscow would examine the document carefully before drawing broader conclusions.

“We definitely need to look into it more carefully,” Peskov said, according to TASS.

The new 29-page strategy presents Trump's foreign policy vision as one of “flexible realism” and states that US policy will be driven primarily by “what works for America,” according to the document.

Washington will seek a quick resolution to the conflict in Ukraine and seek to restore “strategic stability” with Moscow, while maintaining that Russia's actions in Ukraine remain a central security concern, the document said.

The strategy was published amid a stalled US peace initiative, in which Washington presented a proposal that supported Russia's main claims in the war with Ukraine.

Trump has often made positive and admiring statements about Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading critics to accuse him of being soft on Moscow, even as his administration has maintained sanctions against Russia.