Washington is ready to engage in talks with Russia, China, and North Korea without preconditions to reduce the nuclear threat, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Oct. 13.
Biden made his statement while congratulating the winners of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo grouping survivors of the atomic bombings of Japan almost 80 years ago, for their campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
The comments came after Russia adopted changes to its nuclear doctrine, lowering the threshold for its nuclear response.
"There is no benefit to our nations or the world to forestall progress on reducing nuclear arsenals," Biden said. "Reducing the nuclear threat is important not despite the dangers of today’s world but precisely because of them."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly made nuclear threats against Ukraine and the West since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. The threats have failed to materialize, and Russia continues to wage its all-out war without using its nuclear arsenal.
In late September, Putin expanded the scenarios that could trigger a Russian nuclear response, including reliable intelligence of a large-scale cross-border attack involving aircraft, missiles, or drones. He also said that any attack on Russia backed by a nuclear power would be treated as a joint assault.
The Kremlin claimed the move was a direct response to discussions in the U.S. and U.K. about allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with Western-supplied long-range conventional missiles.
North Korea has become one of Russia's leading allies in its full-scale war against Ukraine, providing ammunition and missiles and reportedly sending military staff to aid Russian forces.
China claimed neutrality in the war but backed Moscow in the face of Western sanctions and became Russia's leading source of dual-use goods feeding the Russian defense industry.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of "increasing alliance" between Moscow and Pyongyang on Oct. 13 following reports that North Korea is likely to deploy regular troops to Ukraine to aid Russia at the front.
Kateryna Hodunova
