Senior Policy Director John Erath was quoted in Newsweek discussing Russia’s nuclear threats.
But “because of the extreme consequences of the use of any nuclear weapon, any risk has to be taken very, very seriously,” John Erath, senior policy director for the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, a U.S.-based nonprofit, told Newsweek.
“The risk of the use of a nuclear weapon is small, but it is perhaps greater than it has been at any point since the Cold War,” he said.
Erath said he believes now is the time “to prevent the attacks before they happen.”
“I think it’s the time for very careful messaging and very active diplomacy to make sure that the Russian government is hearing from all possible sides that it would not be a good idea to use nuclear weapons, that they will not get what they are trying to achieve through the use of nuclear weapons, and that there will be severe consequences should they go ahead and do that. In this way, we can best try to prevent any such weapon from being used,” he said.
The problem is that Putin has made a threat, and “if you make a threat, you have to be prepared to follow through on it, otherwise it’s worthless,” Erath said. And if Putin is feeling desperate, he might get to the point of using a nuclear weapon, even if doing so won’t change the situation on the battlefields in Ukraine. Read more
