MOSCOW, Dec 7 (Reuters) — The Kremlin on Sunday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy, saying it aligns closely with Russia’s own perspectives. It marks the first time Moscow has so openly praised such a document from its former Cold War adversary.
The U.S. strategy outlined Trump’s approach as one of “flexible realism” and called for a revival of the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine, which positioned the Western Hemisphere as an area of exclusive U.S. influence.
The document, signed by Trump, also warned that Europe faces the risk of “civilizational erasure,” identified ending the war in Ukraine as a “core” U.S. interest, and emphasized Washington’s desire to restore strategic stability with Russia. 
“The adjustments we see in the strategy correspond in many ways with our own vision,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television reporter Pavel Zarubin.
Such strong public alignment between Washington and Moscow on major global issues is rare. Still, the two sides cooperated closely after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991—particularly in returning nuclear weapons from former Soviet republics to Russia—and again after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
TRUMP’S STRATEGY LARGELY ACCORDS WITH RUSSIA’S VIEW
During the Cold War, Moscow portrayed the United States as a declining capitalist empire doomed by Marxist inevitabilities, while U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1983 famously labeled the Soviet Union an “evil empire” and “the focus of evil in the modern world.”
After the Soviet collapse, Russia initially hoped for a new partnership with the West. But tensions rose as Washington backed NATO’s eastward expansion, outlined in President Bill Clinton’s 1994 strategy. Those tensions deepened under President Vladimir Putin, who assumed the presidency on the last day of 1999.
Asked about the U.S. strategy’s pledge to dispel “the perception, and prevent the reality, of NATO as a perpetually expanding alliance,” Peskov said the commitment was encouraging.
However, he warned that what he called the U.S. “deep state” views the world differently from Trump. Trump has used the term to describe what he claims is an entrenched network of officials working to undermine leaders who challenge the status quo, including himself.
Critics argue there is no such “deep state,” saying Trump and his allies are promoting a conspiracy theory to justify expanding executive power.
WASHINGTON AND MOSCOW TURN THEIR FOCUS TO CHINA
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, successive U.S. strategies have defined Moscow as an aggressor seeking to forcibly reshape the post-Cold War order.
In comments to the state-run TASS news agency, Peskov said the new strategy’s call for cooperation on strategic stability—rather than portraying Russia as an outright threat—was a positive shift.
Trump’s strategy also identifies the Indo-Pacific as a critical “economic and geopolitical battleground,” stating that the United States will strengthen its military and alliances to prevent conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan.
Russia has increasingly pivoted toward Asia—especially China—following Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, alongside Europe’s efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy.
In a March interview with Fox News, Trump said, “As a student of history — which I am — and I’ve watched it all — the first thing you learn is you don’t want Russia and China to get together.”
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