The United States has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that there will be “catastrophic consequences” if Russia uses nuclear weapons during its invasion of Ukraine, according to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
Sullivan made his comments during an appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” telling host Chuck Todd that the consequences “would be catastrophic if Russia went down the dark road of nuclear weapons use.”
“I want to talk about the nuclear threats from Vladimir Putin,” Todd said. “There was a report this week that folks in the Biden administration have made it clear, privately, of the severe consequences. Does this mean the red phone is working again? Because at the beginning of this conflict there was a lot of concern that some of the basic communications that we had from military to military, intel to intel, you had a hard time getting your counterparts to return calls. Does this mean the red phone is working again?”
“We’ve been careful to protect the timing and the content of the conversations we have with the Russian government, with the Kremlin,” Sullivan responded. “But the answer to your question is yes. We do have the capacity to speak directly at senior levels and to be clear about our messages to them and to receive their messages. That has happened frequently over the course of the past few months. It has happened even in just the last few days. But we have not wanted to indicate exactly what those channels look like because we want to be able to protect them so that we have the continuing ability to reach Russia and tell them in no uncertain terms, for example, what the consequences would be, and they would be catastrophic if Russia went down the dark road of nuclear weapons use.”
When pressed by Todd on the “strategic ambiguity” of and refusal to send a “public message” in response to Putin “publicly threatening nuclear weapons,” Sullivan again warned of “catastrophic consequences” but did not offer any more details.
“Let me say it plainly,” Sullivan said. “If Russia crosses this line there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia. The United States will respond decisively. Now, in private channels we have spelled out in greater detail exactly what that would mean, but we want to be able to have the credibility of speaking directly to senior leadership in Russia and laying out for them what the consequences would be without getting into a rhetorical tit for tat publicly. But we will not hesitate in saying publicly that there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia”
“You’ve used that word ‘catastrophic’ just now twice,” Todd noted. “I assume you will not give more definition to that, but should Putin use the definition of his imagination there? ‘Catastrophic’ is just that, as bad as he could imagine?”
“Well, Russia understands very well what the United States would do in response to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine because we have spelled it out for them, and I will leave it at that today,” Sullivan claimed. “But as far as the question of deterrence is concerned, you know, Russia will make its decisions, but it will do so fully understanding that the United States will respond decisively. And from our perspective, we will continue to be sharp and clear with them so that there is no mistake about where things stand from our perspective.”
