The British National Security Adviser Stephen Lovegrove said the likelihood of a nuclear conflict is increasing because of a "communication breakdown" between Russia and China and the West.
He reported this during a speech in Washington.
"The two monolithic blocs of the Cold War era — the USSR and NATO — although not without alarming blows, were able to reach a common understanding of the doctrine, but today it is absent. The doctrine is opaque in Moscow and Beijing, let alone Pyongyang or Tehran,” Lovegrove explained.
He considers the US decision to hold negotiations and resume cooperation with China to be correct. But he is worried about the risks of technological progress.
"We have clear concerns about Chinaʼs nuclear modernization program, which will increase both the number and types of nuclear weapons systems in its arsenal," added Stephen Lovegrove.
The national security adviser of GB also stated that Putin is undermining the global security architecture. He mentioned all the international treaties that Russia violated.
“Many other long-term agreements have collapsed due to Russian violations, despite the fact that these agreements offered the conflict resolution, confidence-building and transparency that Moscow says it seeks. And logic suggests that she should want it. These agreements include the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, and the Treaty on Open Skies, all of which were designed to ensure stability in the Euro-Atlantic region,” noted Stephen Lovegrove.
He assured that the international community will continue to hold Russia accountable for its destabilizing actions.
- A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published on June 13, also states that the risk of nuclear weapons use in the world has reached its highest level since the Cold War.
- On July 19, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in its summary that Vladimir Putin may threaten to use nuclear weapons to deter a counteroffensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the liberation of the occupied territories of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts.