The United States called “irresponsible” the “light” remarks of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who on Wednesday downplayed the risk of using nuclear weapons in the conflict in Ukraine, reports AFP.

Refusing to answer Vladimir Putin directly, US State Department spokesman Ned Price stressed that “any casual talk about nuclear weapons is completely irresponsible” after the Russian president said Russia would not use nuclear weapons first, but only “in response” to possible nuclear weapons. an enemy attack on his territory.

Putin insisted that Russia has not “gone mad” and sees its own nuclear arsenal as a purely defensive deterrent.

“We are not crazy, we know what nuclear weapons are. We have these means in a more advanced and modern form than any other nuclear country, this is an obvious fact. But we will not run around the world brandishing this weapon like a razor,” he said.

Putin added that Russia “can be the sole guarantor of Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” adding, “It depends on Ukraine’s new leaders.”