Putin’s comments came in a letter to participants in a UN conference to reaffirm the nuclear non-proliferation treaty that began on Monday. “We proceed from the fact that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be launched, and we stand for equal and indivisible security for all members of the world community,” the Russian leader said. The remarks were a sharp departure from the Kremlin’s constant reminders of its nuclear capability during the last five months of the war in Ukraine. As Putin invaded Ukraine in February, he warned that intervention by Western nations would have “unseen consequences” — widely interpreted as a nuclear threat. Days after the invasion, Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert, citing “aggressive statements” by his Western rivals. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed “there can be no winners in a nuclear war” in a letter to a United Nations conference. Artem Priakhin/Kommersant/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images A month later, Kremlin stalwart Dmitry Peskov doubled down, defending Russia’s policy of using nuclear weapons if it felt its existence was threatened. In April, Russia went ahead with a previously planned test of a next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile — and state media proceeded to taunt the West with a threat of a nuclear attack on New York. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday’s meeting comes “at a time when the risks of proliferation are increasing and the guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has referred to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a crisis with “nuclear undertones”. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images “And when crises – with nuclear undertones – flare up from the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he added. He said as a result of these conflicts, “humanity is only one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.” “Future generations are counting on your commitment to walk away from the abyss,” Guterres told the assembled politicians and diplomats. “This is our moment to meet this fundamental test and lift the cloud of nuclear annihilation once and for all.” Putin threatened Western nations with “unseen consequences” for interfering with his invasion of Ukraine.Dmitry Azarov/Kommersant/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images One hundred and ninety-one nations are parties to the non-proliferation treaty. Under the terms of the deal, the US, UK, China, Russia and France – the five original nuclear powers – are expected to negotiate the elimination of their nuclear arsenals. Nuclear Powers India, Pakistan and North Korea have not signed the treaty. Neither is Israel, which is widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal it does not publicly acknowledge. With Post cables
