President Biden on Wednesday said there’s “no evidence” Russia is changing its nuclear posture despite Moscow’s move to suspend its major nuclear arms treaty with the U.S.
In an interview with ABC News anchor David Muir, Biden called the suspension of the New START nuclear arms treaty a “big mistake” but said there’s no indication Russia is moving to use intercontinental ballistic missiles or other nuclear weapons.
“It’s a big mistake to do that. Not very responsible. And — but I don’t read into that that he’s thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that,” Biden said.
“I think we’re less safe when we walk away from arms control agreements that are very much in both parties’ interests and the world’s interest. But I’ve not seen anything, we’ve not seen anything that — where there’s a change in his posture and what they’re doing,” the president continued. “The idea that somehow this means they’re thinking of using nuclear weapons … intercontinental ballistic missiles, there’s no evidence of that.”
The president also said that he’s “confident we’ll be able to work it out.”
Biden was in Poland on Wednesday morning following a surprise trip to Ukraine, just days ahead of the one-year mark since the start of Russia’s invasion. The president gave remarks from both Kyiv and Warsaw underscoring U.S. support for the embattled Ukraine.
Biden spoke outside the Polish Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Tuesday, the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech announcing the suspension of the nuclear treaty.
Putin has sparked international concern about the potential use of nuclear weapons throughout the tense conflict. Worries also loom over the possibility of an accident occurring at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine as the war continues.