The report, International Security in Cyberspace – New Models for Reducing Risk, released by the US State Department on October 20 has come to our attention.

With regard to cyberspace, this document added little to the unfounded accusations against Russia that we constantly hear from across the ocean. It reiterates the unsubstantiated accusations of Russia’s “irresponsible” behaviour in cyberspace. This matter continues to hold the central theme in internal political confrontation for “pumping up” domestic audiences as part of the election campaign.

However, this time our US colleagues have outdone themselves in anti-Russia rhetoric with extremely harsh statements occasionally bordering on bizarre rudeness. Such an approach will not benefit the State Department and is indicative of the fact that they treat the culture and norms of state-to-state communication with disdain.

In reality, Russia’s approaches to the use of information and communication technology have nothing to do with the way they are portrayed in Washington. Once again, we would like to remind everyone of President Vladimir Putin’s statement of September 25, which contains proposals for the United States to start a constructive professional dialogue on the entire range of issues related to international cybersecurity. We suggest that all sensible forces in the United States and other countries use this document as a guideline.

The fact that the report promotes lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons is of particular concern. This is not the first time we have heard Washington say this. When US nuclear doctrine was revised and released in 2018, there were media leaks that the administration allows for the use of nuclear weapons in response to hostile actions in cyberspace. Even then we expressed concern about these adjustments to the US’s approaches in the military nuclear sphere.

This is the latest confirmation that our fears were not groundless. The State Department’s report explicitly states that this scenario is realistic. So, there is a new and major reason to ponder the outcome of the irresponsible transformation of the US position.

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