Russian leader Medvedev reminds Trump about dangers of 'dead hand'

Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday warned US President Donald Trump not to ignore the peril posed by those he labels "dead", as the two leaders exchanged barbs on social media.

In a social media post on Thursday, Trump mounted a sharp attack on India and Russia for their close ties and said the two countries can take their "dead economies down together".

Hitting out at Moscow, Trump added: “Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let’s keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory." Hours later, Medvedev, who is the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, which is headed by President Vladimir Putin, mocked Trump's “dead economies” remark, saying he should remember that Russia possessed Soviet-era automatic nuclear strike capabilities of last resort.

"If some words from the former president of Russia cause such a nervous reaction from the supposedly mighty president of the US, then Russia is doing everything right and will continue to proceed along its own path," Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel.

Reacting to Trump's remarks about ‘dead economies’ of India and Russia and the warning about ‘entering dangerous territory’, Medvedev said the US president should "remember his favourite films about 'The Walking Dead' and think about how dangerous a ‘dead hand’ can be, even one that doesn't exist in nature.” He added a laughing emoji.

According to Russia's state-run TASS news agency, the term "dead hand" harks back to Cold War-era nomenclature in the West, where it referred to the Soviet nuclear deterrent system known as Perimeter. This automatic system was reportedly designed to ensure a guaranteed retaliatory strike in the event of an attack on the USSR.

Recently, Trump said that the US will impose about 100 per cent import tariffs on Russia and its trade partners if Moscow and Washington do not reach an agreement on the Ukrainian settlement within 50 days. He later shortened the deadline to 10 days.

Medvedev responded, saying Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country."