US slams 'loose talk' on nuclear weapons after Putin musings | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
July 11, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2025
US slams 'loose talk' on nuclear weapons after Putin musings

USA

Reuters
08 December, 2022, 11:30 am
Last modified: 08 December, 2022, 11:32 am

Related News

  • Tariff implications: What does Trump actually want to achieve?
  • What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world
  • US sanctions UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese over ICC ties, criticism of Israel
  • 35% tariff: Bangladesh, US 'agree on most issues' as first day of talks ends
  • Bangladesh-US two-day tariff talks begin in Washington

US slams 'loose talk' on nuclear weapons after Putin musings

Reuters
08 December, 2022, 11:30 am
Last modified: 08 December, 2022, 11:32 am
Russian and US state flags fly in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region, Russia March 27, 2019. Photo: Reuters
Russian and US state flags fly in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region, Russia March 27, 2019. Photo: Reuters

The United States on Wednesday denounced "loose talk" on nuclear weapons after Russian President Vladimir Putin mused on rising risks of nuclear war but said Moscow would not strike first.

Putin, who has previously hinted at use of small "tactical" weapons in his war in Ukraine, said at a Kremlin meeting that "such a threat is rising" but he was evasive on Russia's policy.

"Russia will under no circumstances use them first," Putin said.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

"But if it does not use them first under any circumstances, then it will not be the second to use them either, because the possibilities of using them in the event of a nuclear strike against our territory are very limited," Putin said.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price, asked about Putin's remarks, declined to reply directly but said, "We think any loose talk of nuclear weapons is absolutely irresponsible."

Price said that nuclear powers around the world since the Cold War, including China, India, the United States and Russia itself, have been clear that "a nuclear war is something that must never be fought and can never be won."

"We think any other rhetoric -- whether it is nuclear saber-rattling or even raising the specter of the use of tactical nuclear weapons -- is something that is irresponsible," Price said.

"It is dangerous, and it goes against the spirit of that statement that has been at the core of the nuclear non-proliferation regime since the Cold War," he said.

Putin in his remarks contrasted Russia with the United States, pointing to Washington's stationing of nuclear weapons in NATO allies in Europe.

"We have not, and are not, transferring our nuclear weapons to anyone, but, of course, we will protect our allies with all the means at our disposal, if necessary," Putin said.

US officials have voiced fear that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it feels routed on the battlefield and could plant a fictitious story to justify its actions.

Russia has already spoken of supposed Ukrainian attempts to detonate a "dirty bomb," drawing strong denials from Ukraine and a sharp rebuke from the United States, which had rare direct communication with Moscow to warn against nuclear use.

Neither the United States nor Russia -- by far the largest nuclear weapons powers -- officially has a policy of no first use of the ultra-destructive arms.

A recent US posture review by President Joe Biden concluded only that nuclear weapons should only be used in "extreme circumstances."

Russia recently cancelled talks on nuclear arms control scheduled in Cairo, accusing the United States -- which has sought to punish Russia over its invasion of Ukraine -- of hostility.

World+Biz

USA / Vladimir Putin / nuclear actions

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Bangladesh's delegation, led by Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, began high-level negotiations with USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer at 9pm Bangladesh time on Thursday (10 July). Photo: Collected from the Facebook handle of Golam Mortoza, Press Minister at the Bangladesh Embassy in the US
    No need to worry as US tariff talks ongoing: Fouzul tells biz leaders
  • Economist Abul Barkat; Photo: Courtesy
    Economist Abul Barkat arrested in graft case
  • Representational image. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS
    Explainer: Why SSC pass rate hit a 17-year low

MOST VIEWED

  • Graphics: TBS
    BB raises startup fund limit, drops upper age barrier
  • Workers pack undergarments at the packing section of a garment factory in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fatima Tuj Johora
    After US tariffs, jobs hang by a thread in Bangladesh's garments sector
  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • File photo of containers at Chattogram port/TBS
    US buyers push Bangladeshi exporters to share extra tariff costs
  • Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
    Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
  • Students sit for SSC exam at Motijheel Girls' High School on 10 April 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
    SSC exam results out: Here's how you can check online and via SMS

Related News

  • Tariff implications: What does Trump actually want to achieve?
  • What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world
  • US sanctions UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese over ICC ties, criticism of Israel
  • 35% tariff: Bangladesh, US 'agree on most issues' as first day of talks ends
  • Bangladesh-US two-day tariff talks begin in Washington

Features

Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

7h | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

10h | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered — have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

10h | Panorama
Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS

11 July 2024: Riot vehicles, water cannons hit the streets as police crack down on protesters

3h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

'Hypocrisy' will not continue, Iran tells IAEA

6h | TBS World
OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome

OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome

6h | TBS World
Will the title 'Honorable and Excellency' be abolished?

Will the title 'Honorable and Excellency' be abolished?

7h | TBS Today
July Declaration must be constitutionally recognized: Akhtar Hossain

July Declaration must be constitutionally recognized: Akhtar Hossain

6h | TBS Today
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net