Amid Rising Tensions, Moscow-Washington Hotline Falls Silent

The historic Moscow-Washington hotline, established in 1963 for direct emergency communication between the leaders of the US and Russia, has not been used recently. Rising geopolitical tensions have prompted discussions about new protected communication channels between presidents, as well as concerns over recent military escalations involving Ukraine and US-supplied missiles.

In a sign of deteriorating relations between Moscow and Washington, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday that the Moscow-Washington hotline is currently inactive. Established after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the hotline has historically facilitated emergency communications between US and Russian leaders.

Peskov's remarks, reported by Russian news agency TASS, highlighted that the hotline has not seen any use recently, with Peskov noting the advent of a 'special protected communication channel' now reserved for presidential discussions, including video conferencing.

This comes amidst escalating tensions between Russia and the US, heightened by Ukraine's reported use of US-supplied ATACMS missiles on Russian territory. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned the strikes and signaled a potential response to what Russia perceives as a deeper American involvement in the conflict.

(With inputs from agencies.)