As the Secretary of State stressed at the same time, the United States is aimed at ensuring that the conflict "does not grow and does not expand"WASHINGTON, September 26.
/tass/. The US administration has developed a plan for the alleged possible use of nuclear weapons by Russia, but Washington aims to ensure that the situation around Ukraine does not lead to an expansion of the existing conflict. This statement was made on Sunday in an interview with CBS by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
"We have it," Blinken said, answering a question about whether the administration has a plan in case the Russian Federation uses nuclear weapons.
Blinken did not discuss specific steps that Washington could take in the event of such a development. "I will not delve into the question of what the consequences will be. Any use of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic consequences, of course, for the country that used them, but also for many others," he said.
As the Secretary of State noted, the US administration told Russian officials about the need to stop irresponsible statements regarding the use of nuclear weapons.
"We have been very clear to the Russians - publicly and privately - to stop irresponsible statements about nuclear weapons," he said. To the journalist's clarifying question whether the United States and the Russian Federation had non-public contacts on this topic, Blinken replied: "Yes. It is very important that Moscow hears us and knows <...> that the consequences will be terrible. And we've made that very clear."
According to the Secretary of State, the United States is "focused on" ensuring that all parties "act responsibly" in terms of statements about nuclear weapons.
Blinken also stressed that the United States is aimed at ensuring that the conflict in Ukraine "does not grow and expand." At the same time, according to him, Washington is also "determined to do everything possible to help Ukrainians defend themselves." "We are also doing everything we can to encourage other countries to put pressure on Russia," he added.
According to him, the American side is not currently conducting any confidential negotiations with Russia concerning Ukraine.
"There are no negotiations, because Russia has not so far demonstrated its readiness to participate in meaningful consultations. If this changes, we will do everything to support the diplomatic process," he argued, answering a journalist's question about whether negotiations are underway on Ukraine, about which the public is not aware.
According to Blinken, his "work in the foreseeable future will focus on the question <...> how to make sure that a small war in Europe does not set the whole world on fire."
On September 21, US President Joe Biden said from the rostrum of the UN General Assembly that Moscow had made "outright threats to use nuclear weapons against Europe and reckless disregard for the obligations of the non-proliferation regime." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday called the American leader's speech "indecent", saying that he "attributed to the Russian president the words that our country threatens the world with nuclear weapons."
On September 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on partial mobilization in the country. In his address to the Russians, he noted that the line of contact in the military operation zone "exceeds a thousand kilometers," while the allied forces are opposing "not only neo-Nazi formations, but in fact the entire military machine of the collective West," which threatens the very existence of the Russian Federation. Putin also stressed that Russia will be ready to use all means at its disposal to protect its territorial integrity and its people.
