Rose Gottemoeller: Despite Rhetoric, No Observable Change in Russia’s Nuclear Posture

Russia Matters, 7/29/24

“There is a difference between the political use to which Putin is putting nuclear threats … and what we see in terms of the military nuclear establishment in Russia taking action,” Rose Gottemoeller said in an interview with BAS. “We do not see the readiness of Russian nuclear forces really being raised in any way, do not see any changes in the status of Russian nuclear forces that would give rise to alarm, [and we do not see] that they are getting closer to pursuing some kind of nuclear use scenario,” the former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control said. In the interview, Gottemoeller predicted a “long period when we’ll have very little trust or confidence in the Russians,” but argues that it’s still “important to think about nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons arms control as being associated with constraining and ensuring that an existential threat to humanity does not get out of hand.” The interview was published one day after Putin threatened to end Russia’s moratorium on the deployment of medium-range nuclear capable missiles, which Russia claims to be observing, if the U.S. deploys long-range precision missile systems in Germany.