In February, Russia was rated among the most unfavorable countries by Americans in a Gallup poll. Tensions between the U.S. and Russia have escalated over the Ukraine crisis. The United States as accused Russia of backing separatists in eastern Ukraine. But there is no threat of a nuclear war between Moscow and Washington, says a senior U.S. State Department official.
Neither Russia nor U.S. desire to use nukes
In an interview with Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, Rose Gottemoeller, the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security for the US State Department, said that the White House did not believe the Ukrainian conflict would trigger a nuclear crisis. Though the two countries have different opinions regarding the Ukraine crisis, neither Russia nor the U.S. desire to use nuclear weapons to back up their arguments.
Gottemoeller told the Russian newspaper that the two countries have a “stable relationship” on nuclear issues. The State Department official added that the two countries have taken a series of steps over the past few decades to reduce their nuclear arsenal. Gottemoeller’s statement comes as many other security experts have proclaimed that Russia and the U.S. are heading towards a nuclear war.
Some experts spreading fears of a nuclear war
Earlier this week, Dr Paul Craig Roberts, the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy, said that Russia and China will never accept the U.S. hegemony. Beijing and Moscow are coming closer to challenge the U.S. dominance. China and Russia are also conducting joint naval exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, right in the backyard of Western Europe.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has also expressed concern that the conflict may escalate into a full-fledged nuclear war. During his visit to France on Wednesday, Yatsenyuk said Ukraine and Russia were on the verge of a nuclear crisis.
When asked whether the Ukraine crisis could trigger a nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia, Gottemoeller said it’s not going to happen. She said the world war still far from a nuclear crisis.
