Members of Russia’s Foreign and Defense Policy Council issued a statement July 13 condemning the idea circulated in Moscow.
“To hope that a limited nuclear conflict can be managed and prevented from escalating into a global nuclear war is the height of irresponsibility,” write the members of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council of the Russian Federation. “That means the destruction of tens, if not hundreds of millions of people in Russia, Europe, China, the United States and other countries is at stake. This is a direct threat to humanity in general,” worries a press release from Russian opposition media outlet Meduza.
The signatories to this declaration, speaking on their own behalf and not on behalf of the Council, condemn the idea circulating in Russia of attacking Europe with nuclear weapons, particularly since the publication in June 2023 of an article by one of the founders of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council, Sergey Karaganov, entitled “A Difficult But Necessary Decision. The use of nuclear weapons can save humanity from a global catastrophe.”
“Pseudo-theoretical thinking”
Among other things, the author explained that in order for Russia to win in Ukraine, it would have to launch a “preventive nuclear strike against Europe” in order to “break the will of the West”. According to the political scientist, such an attack would not lead to a global nuclear war, since the US would not be defending Europe.
Such “pseudo-theoretical considerations” and “emotional statements” are unacceptable because they fuel moods in Russian society that can lead to “catastrophic decisions”, the signatories complain in their press release.
“We, the members of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council, find these proposals absolutely unacceptable and strongly condemn them. No one should ever blackmail humanity with the threat of using nuclear weapons and, moreover, give them command of their use in combat.” they conclude.