(Washington) The consequences would be “catastrophic” if Russian President Vladimir Putin followed through on his threat to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, a senior adviser to President Joe Biden warned on Sunday.
Posted at 8:00 p.m.
The United States intends to make it clear to Russia “what the consequences would be if it took the dark path of using nuclear weapons, and they would be catastrophic,” said Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to the White House on NBC.
“We have the ability to speak directly at a high level (to the Russians), to tell them clearly what our message is and to hear theirs,” he said.
“It has happened frequently in recent months, it has even happened in recent days”, indicated Jake Sullivan, who did not want to give details on the exact nature of the communication channels used, in order to “the protect. »
Washington has already issued several warnings, with an increasingly harsh vocabulary, against a possible recourse to nuclear weapons by Moscow.
Questioned on September 16, before the Russian president implicitly waved this threat, Joe Biden had sent this message: “Don’t do it. Don’t. Don’t. You would change the face of war in a way not seen since World War II. »
He had warned that the American response would be “consequent”, but without further details.
After the Russian president declared that he was ready to use “all his means” of defense, Washington raised his voice again, repeating that he took this threat “seriously” and promised a “severe” response. »
These public warnings are backed up by warnings made “privately”, a US official said recently.