When asked whether he believed that the conflict in Ukraine may evolve into a nuclear one, he said: "I do not."
In his words, all members of the international community are doing their utmost to prevent this scenario, but Ukraine has the right to defend itself, and the West will continue supporting it.
Commenting on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks on the possibility of a nuclear war, Austin described them as "unhelpful."
"We've said over and over again that a nuclear war cannot be won by either side. And so I think saber rattling and rhetoric like that is just unhelpful," he said.
In his opinion, it is "hard to say" what motivated Lavrov to make comments like that, "but again, I think that kind of talk should be avoided."
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