Russia repeats Putin’s new message against a nuclear war

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A Russian official twice repeated President Vladimir Putin’s new message that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” Putin was apparently trying to roll back on his warning after the country’s invasion of Ukraine that Russia is “one of the most potent nuclear powers” and any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen.” Russian Foreign Ministry official Igor Vishnevetsky said Tuesday it is critical that “the nuclear powers behave with restraint and responsibility.”  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called Putin’s nuclear warning “reckless, dangerous nuclear saber-rattling.” They spoke at the pandemic-delayed conference to review the 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.