Because of Putin’s behavior: US minister warns of global nuclear armament Greek general warns Turkey – and alludes to historic battles

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin used unusually clear words to warn of the global fallout from the war in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine heralded a “possible world of tyranny and unrest,” he said in a speech at a security forum in Canada over the weekend.

Austin said the United States would not get drawn into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, but warned of the risks of a global nuclear buildup if Moscow is victorious. “Putin’s fellow autocrats are watching. And they could very well conclude that acquiring nuclear weapons would give them their own hunting license,” Austin said. “And that could set off a dangerous spiral of nuclear proliferation.”

This is dangerous and of historical importance. Proliferation refers to the transfer of nuclear weapons or the means of producing them.

References to the possible use of nuclear weapons had repeatedly come from Moscow. In a speech in September, Putin again brought up the use of nuclear weapons, making it clear that “all available means” would be used to protect Russia’s territorial integrity.

The threat of a nuclear attack was one of the reasons why NATO and its allies limited support to Ukraine to specific weapons and financial aid. Time and time again it was feared that further measures could provoke a nuclear reaction. At the same time, there were warnings that Putin was using the nuclear map threat to thwart Western support for Ukraine.

The US Secretary of Defense cited China as an example of the first signs of a power shift. Austin said Chinese aircraft flew near self-governing Taiwan in record numbers on an almost daily basis, while what he called “dangerous interceptions” by US or allied forces at sea or in the air across China increased.

There is no shortage of other states that are currently gaining strength. Iran and Turkey could also take Putin’s example and balance their borders. Tehran is already supporting Moscow with drones and plans to build them in Russia soon.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is blocking NATO expansion to Sweden and Finland, while at the same time presenting himself on the world stage as a broker in the grain deals between Moscow and Ukraine. There are also tensions between EU member Greece and Turkey, which were mainly fueled by hurtful statements by Erdogan.

North Korea is also showing increasing courage, firing missiles almost weekly – despite sanctions – and threatening potential attackers. (reuters, t-online, wan, con)