President Joe Biden and other G7 leaders released a joint statement Friday calling Russia’s recent increase in nuclear rhetoric “unacceptable.”
“We reiterate that Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable, and any use of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences,” the leaders wrote in a statement.
Russian officials and media pundits have increasingly called for the country to launch nuclear weapons against the West since the beginning of the invasion in Ukraine. Former Russian Vice President Dmitry Medvedev said, “the defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war.” Russian officials have previously threatened the U.S. for sending military aid to Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin abandoned the START Treaty — the last remaining nuclear arms agreement with the U.S. — and said Russia would test nuclear weapons if the U.S. did so first. (RELATED: Putin Abandons Landmark Nuclear Arms Treaty With US After Biden Visits Ukraine)
The G7 leaders responded that they “deeply regret Russia’s decision to suspend the implementation of the new START treaty,” and also expressed grave “concern” over Russia’s continued control over Zaporizhzhya’s nuclear power plant.
Peace activists wearing masks of Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and newly elected US President Joe Biden pose with mock nuclear missiles in front of the US embassy in Berlin on January 29, 2021 in an action to call for more progress in nuclear disarmament. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP) (Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)
The White House has maintained that there is no “indication” Putin “has any intention” of using nuclear weapons in the war on Ukraine. There was no increase in threats after the U.S. sent 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in January.
“The propagandists and the Russian media can say what they will. The president put it very clearly today. These tanks pose no offensive threat to Russia,” Kirby said.
“We don’t have any indication Mr. Putin has any intention to use weapons of mass destruction, let alone nuclear weapons, tactical or otherwise. And we monitor as best we can,” he added.
The G7 leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday to discuss the one-year anniversary of the war. They called on Russia to end the war, and pledged continued aid to Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”