Ned Price: "Any Loose Talk Of Nuclear Weapons is Absolutely Irresponsible"

Washington on Wednesday denounced “loose talk” on nuclear weapons after Russia's Vladimir Putin mused on rising risks of nuclear war, TURAN's U.S. correspondent reports.

"We think any loose talk of nuclear weapons is absolutely irresponsible," State Department's spokesperson Ned Price told a daily press conference when responding to TURAN's questions.

"We have heard from countries around the world a reaffirmation of the very simple statement that has been around since the Cold War – namely, a nuclear war is something that must never be fought and can never be won," Price said..

Putin on Wednesday told members of the Kremlin’s presidential human rights council that his reminders about Russia’s supply of nuclear weapons are a “factor of deterrence” in the war with Ukraine, not one of escalation.

Price, in his response, reminded that nuclear powers around the world since the Cold War, including China, India, the U.S. and Russia itself, have been clear that “a nuclear war is something that must never be fought and can never be won.”

“We think any other rhetoric – whether it is nuclear saber-rattling or even raising the specter of the use of tactical nuclear weapons – is something that is irresponsible,” he said. “It is dangerous, and it goes against the spirit of that statement that has been at the core of the nuclear non-proliferation regime since the Cold War"

He went on to add: "It flies in the face of the very statement that Russia formally signed onto in January of this year in the context of the UN Security Council. It flies in the face of the statement that we’ve heard from Russian officials even in recent weeks reaffirming that very simple principle about a nuclear war. So that is what we continue to point to"

Western leaders have repeatedly expressed concerns that Putin may be willing to use tactical nuclear weapons, designed to be used on battlefields and create less damage than regular nuclear weapons, in fighting Ukraine.

In the meantime, struggling to maintain a steady supply of arms for its war in Ukraine, Moscow is also reportedly looking to Iran once again to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles.

TURAN's correspondent also asked Price to respond to the latest concerns that Russia would look to Iran to bolster its ballistic missile supply.

"We know that Russia’s brutal assault against Ukraine has forced Russia to expend its relatively scarce quantities of weaponry, including ballistic missiles,” he said, adding however Washington doesn't have "any information to share at this point regarding current deliveries of ballistic missiles."

Asked if the U.S. was looking for new tools to prevent Iran from delivering new drones to Russia, Price said, "we are using relevant tools."

"We have used our sanctions authorities against Iranian targets, against Russian targets, and we’re prepared to use them against any additional targets anywhere around the world that is part of this proliferation network that has allowed Iran to send this lethal, this very deadly technology to Russia," he concluded.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.