Amid escalating tensions in the Ukraine conflict, the spokesman for the Kremlin has said that the US had taken Russian President Vladimir Putin’s words out of context, and that the President made no threats of using nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine.
The White House had criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for what it deems as “reckless and irresponsible” nuclear rhetoric, despite the Kremlin’s efforts to clarify Putin’s remarks.
Speaking to reporters, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre acknowledged that Washington understood Putin’s restatement of Moscow’s nuclear doctrine. However, Jean-Pierre accused Russia of deploying inflammatory rhetoric throughout the Ukraine crisis.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the criticism, asserting that Putin’s comments were in response to a journalist’s questions and merely reiterated Russia’s well-known circumstances for the potential use of nuclear weapons.
Peskov emphasized that Putin had also stated in the same interview that the idea of using tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine had never crossed his mind.
Addressing the White House’s remarks, Peskov denounced them as deliberate misinterpretation, stating, “Putin made no threats about the use of nuclear weapons in this interview. The president was just talking about the reasons that could make the use of nuclear weapons inevitable.”
He further highlighted that Putin’s statement about not considering the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine was overlooked by Western critics, labelling it as “a deliberate distortion of the context and an unwillingness to hear President Putin.”
The exchange underscores the heightened tensions between Russia and the West as the conflict in Ukraine continues to unfold.
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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