The United States sees no reason to change its nuclear posture and does not have indications that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons, the White House said on Friday, according to Reuters.
The comments came hours after President Joe Biden said at a Democratic Party fundraising event in New York that the world risks nuclear "Armageddon" for the first time since the Cold War.
"He was reinforcing what we have been saying, which is how seriously we take these threats about nuclear weapons," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One when asked about Biden's comments.
"We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture, nor do we have indications that Russia is preparing to imminently use nuclear weapons," she added.
In his remarks on Thursday, Biden stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "not joking" when he threatens to use nuclear weapons to pursue his invasion of Ukraine.
"We've got a guy I know fairly well," he continued, before adding, that Putin is "not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons, because his military is, you might say, significantly underperforming."
Putin issued a thinly veiled nuclear threat in a recent speech in which Putin also announced his country's first wartime military mobilization since World War Two.
Biden, in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, then accused Putin of making "overt nuclear threats against Europe" in reckless disregard for nuclear nonproliferation responsibilities.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last week that Washington takes Putin's nuclear threats seriously but does not presently see indications of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia.
"There is a risk, given all the loose talk and nuclear saber rattling by Putin, that he would consider this and we’ve been equally clear about what the consequences would be," Sullivan told reporters, but added, "We do not presently see indications about the imminent use of nuclear weapons."
Asked if the US would actively enter the war if Putin used nukes on Ukraine, Sullivan replied, "So, I have said before that we have had the opportunity to communicate directly to Russia a range of consequences...and the kinds of actions the United States would take."
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)