Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned US President Donald Trump against issuing threats and ultimatums when dealing with Moscow, saying Russia is not comparable to Israel or Iran.
In a post on X on Monday, Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, reacted sharply to Trump’s latest demand that Moscow agree a ceasefire with Kiev within “10 or 12 days.”
Earlier this month, Trump threatened sweeping secondary sanctions against Russia’s trade partners if a deal was not reached by autumn.
Medvedev accused Trump of “playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10…” and advised him to remember two key points. “Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran,” he wrote, adding that every new ultimatum amounts to “a threat and a step toward hostilities” between Moscow and Washington.
“Don’t go down the Sleepy Joe [Biden] road!” Medvedev said, invoking Trump’s frequent criticism of his predecessor.
During his election campaign last year, Trump repeatedly attacked Joe Biden’s handling of the Ukraine conflict, claiming that US policy under the former administration had pushed the world closer to “World War III.”
While Trump has revived diplomatic channels with Moscow and pressed Kiev to hold direct peace talks with Russia, he has grown increasingly impatient with the slow pace of negotiations.
Earlier this month, after issuing his initial deadline, the president resumed US military support to Ukraine through NATO.
Moscow has long condemned the Western bloc’s arms shipments to Ukraine, arguing they make NATO countries direct participants in what Russia describes as a proxy conflict with the West.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s key demands on Monday, saying Russia will not back down from its security concerns.
“No dragging Ukraine into NATO, no NATO expansion at all,” Lavrov said. “It has already expanded right up to our borders.”
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