Although Russia is “a very obvious adversary of the United States,” Moscow controls significant nuclear stockpiles. If russia has an economy the size of Texas, this forces the Russians to decide “what they are going to compete with the United States in.
This was stated by former US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, UNN reports with reference to Voice of America.
Details
John Ratcliffe, nominated for the post of CIA Director by US President-elect Donald Trump, explained during a Senate hearing the most likely threats from Russia, in particular in the context of comparison with China:
Russia is “a very obvious adversary of the United States” and has substantial nuclear stockpiles;
Russia differs from China in the size and capabilities of its economy;
“The United States is the largest economy in the world, China is the second largest, and Russia has an economy about the same size as my home state of Texas,” commented the former Director of National Intelligence.
According to the official , Moscow is forced to decide “in what to compete with the United States”. The Russian Federation “has chosen such areas as hypersonic technology and other areas.
According to Ratcliffe, the world saw the price of this, in particular, in the state of readiness of Russian troops at the time of the beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
He also noted that “dangerous adversaries of the United States” who cannot compete with it in kinetic firepower on all fronts “are turning to cyber to harm their rivals, as Iran, North Korea, and others are doing.
Recall
U.S. Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio has stated the importance of NATO, but emphasized the need for increased allied contributions. He emphasized that rich European countries should invest more in their own defense.