U.S. Army Secretary: The U.S. Views Russia as a Rival

¬ Trump Claims Iran Agreed to Surrender Enriched Uranium

¬ Polish Foreign Minister: Poland Opposes Accelerating Ukraine’s EU Accession

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U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll stated that the United States views Russia as a rival.

Speaking at a House hearing, Driscoll responded to a member of Congress asking how the Trump administration perceives Moscow—whether as an ally, an enemy, or indeterminate—with the word "enemy." The lawmaker had asked whether Russia was an ally, an enemy, or impossible to determine.

Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during the 2025 "Straight Line" event, pointed out that the new U.S. national security strategy does not designate Russia as an enemy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that U.S.-Russia relations are not at a "frozen" state. Contact between the two sides continues, though not all interactions are made public.

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On April 16, 2024, U.S. President Trump announced at the South Lawn of the White House that Iran has agreed to transfer enriched uranium stored in the nuclear facility attacked in June of last year to the United States, and claimed that both sides are "very close" to reaching a peace agreement.

In his remarks, Trump reiterated that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons, and emphasized that Iran has agreed to surrender the enriched uranium, stating, "They have agreed to hand over [nuclear dust]." U.S. media reported that Trump's reference to "nuclear dust" refers to highly enriched uranium used for making nuclear weapons.

Trump also said, "We're very close to finalizing an agreement," possibly by April 19, and suggested that a peace deal would bring the U.S. "free oil and access to the Strait of Hormuz."

Iran has not publicly confirmed plans to hand over its stockpile of enriched uranium.

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Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Szczerski said on the RMF FM radio program that Poland will not allow the acceleration of Ukraine’s accession process into the European Union.

Szczerski stated: "The European Commission has proposed accelerating the accession process. This idea cannot be realized."

Szczerski emphasized that Poland maintains that Ukraine must meet all necessary conditions for EU membership.

"We believe Ukraine should fulfill all requirements, just like we did," he said.

In June 2022, the EU granted candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, outlining several stringent conditions before initiating accession negotiations. The EU has repeatedly acknowledged that this decision was largely symbolic, intended to support these two countries in their resistance against Russia. Russia’s presidential spokesperson, Peskov, previously stated that joining the EU is Kyiv’s sovereign right.

Gaining candidate status is merely the beginning of a long journey toward EU membership. Turkey has been a candidate since 1999; North Macedonia since 2005; Montenegro since 2010; Serbia since 2012. Croatia is the most recent country to join—the process concluded in 2013, after a decade-long negotiation period.

Source: sputniknews

Original: toutiao.com/article/1862678737387520/

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