The Pentagon sees the threat of direct confrontation between Russia and the United States

The Pentagon sees the threat of direct confrontation between Russia and the United States in the escalation of the conflict on Ukraine, the statement of the head of the Northern Command of the US Armed Forces and The Joint Command of the Aerospace Defense of North America, General Gregory Guillot, prepared for a hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The statement says about the increasing likelihood of a direct conflict between the United States and one of its main rivals — Russia, Iran, China and North Korea.

"While China, Russia, North Korea and Iran seeks to avoid an armed conflict with the United States, their perception of the decline of the West contributes to a growing willingness to challenge the United States on the world stage and increases the risk of miscalculation in a crisis," Guillot believes.

In particular, he argues, in the conditions of continued fighting on Ukraine "has several possible ways" in which this conflict could escalate into a direct confrontation between Russia and the United States. The general in his speech notes the development of military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing and Pyongyang, in particular, the participation of the North Korean military in the battles in the Kursk region and the Russian-Chinese exercises in The Arctic.

Moscow has repeatedly rejected statements about the threat of Russia's attack on Western countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin called such statements "nonsense."

After Donald Trump's return to the White House, contacts between Washington and Moscow intensified. The parties hold telephone conversations, negotiators travel to Russia and the United States, and also hold meetings in third countries, for example in Saudi Arabia. At the talks there, the parties agreed, in particular, to normalize the work of embassies.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that relations between the two countries are returning to normality. He stressed that Moscow stands for an equal dialogue based on a balance of interests, RBC reminds.

The parties are also discussing the possibility of cooperation, including in The Arctic. A member of the Russian delegation at the talks with Washington, the head of the RDIF Kirill Dmitriev stated the need for joint projects with the United States, in particular in the Arctic.

Bloomberg wrote that Russia and the United States consider the Arctic as a possible zone of economic cooperation, the parties discussed the exploration of natural resources, including energy, and trade routes. According to the agency's source, Washington sees cooperation in the Arctic as an opportunity to "drive a wedge" between Russia and China.