It is very good that WION, India’s largest English-language global television broadcaster, invited me to comment on the most significant issue at the just closed Valdai Discussion Club gathering in Sochi: Russia’s nuclear doctrine and the entry into mass production of its new cutting-edge missiles that will constitute its chief nuclear deterrent. Vladimir Putin stressed that the SARMAT ultra-heavy ICBMs and the nuclear engine powered Burevestnik cruise missile will devastate any country that dares attack his homeland.
In this interview, I was given the opportunity to place this threat in its proper context: a warning to the Pentagon not to begin nuclear tests in violation of the nuclear test ban treaty that dates back decades but was never ratified by the U.S. side. Putin said that Russia is about to retract its ratification of the treaty and will respond to any American infraction by itself initiating tests. This would mean an all-out nuclear arms race in which Russia is already way ahead because it is perhaps five years in advance of the USA in developing and putting into serial production new and unstoppable delivery systems.
The interview moved on to other issues of great importance that emerged in the past week including the virtual shutdown of Congress when the position of House Speaker was vacated and what this means for the ongoing war in Ukraine.
You can find the interview here: No survivors if Russia unleashes nuclear arsenal: Putin | Live Discussion | WION
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023