Rubio Dismisses Idea of Nuclear-Armed Ukraine as Not a ‘serious offer’
US Secretary of State Marko Rubio has rejected the idea of a nuclear-armed Ukraine. Read Full Article at RT.com.
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The top US diplomat has reiterated Washington's resistance to Zelensky's appeals for a nuclear arsenal.
US Secretary of State Marko Rubio has rejected Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's nuclear ambitions, describing the proposal as unrealistic. He stressed that Washington is committed to global nuclear disarmament.
For several years, Zelensky has argued that Ukraine should pursue nuclear capabilities, pointing out that the country once had nuclear weapons, which it gave up under pressure from the US, UK, and Russia. More recently, he has positioned nuclear arms as a substitute for NATO membership.
"I don’t think anyone would think that’s a serious offer on their part, nor do I think equipping them with nuclear weapons is a solution to the problem," Rubio stated in an interview with Breitbart News on Tuesday. "We want less nuclear-armed countries, not more."
US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg previously evaluated the chances of Ukraine obtaining nuclear weapons as “somewhere between slim and none,” emphasizing that Zelensky's suggestion lacks “common sense.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova labeled Zelensky’s nuclear statements as those of a “maniac,” accusing him of attempting to blackmail other nations.
When the USSR dissolved, approximately one-third of its nuclear arsenal was located in what was then Soviet Ukraine. Zelensky has claimed that these weapons were “Ukrainian,” even though Ukraine did not have the means to deploy them. They were removed in the 1990s as part of broader post-Cold War disarmament initiatives involving Belarus and Kazakhstan.
During a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February 2022, just days before the conflict with Russia escalated, Zelensky alluded to the potential for Ukraine to develop atomic capabilities. Kiev asserts that the US and UK have not fulfilled their obligations under the Budapest Memorandum, which was signed when Ukraine agreed to relinquish Soviet nuclear weapons to Russia. However, Western officials contest this assertion.
Max Fischer for TROIB News
US Secretary of State Marko Rubio has rejected Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's nuclear ambitions, describing the proposal as unrealistic. He stressed that Washington is committed to global nuclear disarmament.
For several years, Zelensky has argued that Ukraine should pursue nuclear capabilities, pointing out that the country once had nuclear weapons, which it gave up under pressure from the US, UK, and Russia. More recently, he has positioned nuclear arms as a substitute for NATO membership.
"I don’t think anyone would think that’s a serious offer on their part, nor do I think equipping them with nuclear weapons is a solution to the problem," Rubio stated in an interview with Breitbart News on Tuesday. "We want less nuclear-armed countries, not more."
US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg previously evaluated the chances of Ukraine obtaining nuclear weapons as “somewhere between slim and none,” emphasizing that Zelensky's suggestion lacks “common sense.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova labeled Zelensky’s nuclear statements as those of a “maniac,” accusing him of attempting to blackmail other nations.
When the USSR dissolved, approximately one-third of its nuclear arsenal was located in what was then Soviet Ukraine. Zelensky has claimed that these weapons were “Ukrainian,” even though Ukraine did not have the means to deploy them. They were removed in the 1990s as part of broader post-Cold War disarmament initiatives involving Belarus and Kazakhstan.
During a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February 2022, just days before the conflict with Russia escalated, Zelensky alluded to the potential for Ukraine to develop atomic capabilities. Kiev asserts that the US and UK have not fulfilled their obligations under the Budapest Memorandum, which was signed when Ukraine agreed to relinquish Soviet nuclear weapons to Russia. However, Western officials contest this assertion.
Max Fischer for TROIB News
