Grossi says inadmissible to use nuclear weapons in conflict in Ukraine

WASHINGTON. Jan 20 (Interfax) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has said that a nuclear war must not be allowed to begin against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine.

"A nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought, somebody said, and I think it is true. I am not passing judgement on comments of a high official of any country," Grossi said in an interview with the Fox News channel on Thursday. He thus responded to a request for comment on a statement by Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of a nuclear conflict.

"Certainly, I hope that there will be no nuclear use during this conflict," he said.

The White House reminded the audience on Thursday while commenting on Medvedev's statement of what U.S. President Joe Biden said about the danger of rhetoric on the risk of a nuclear war.

"I haven't seen those comments myself. But I think you've heard the president himself say in the past that this kind of rhetoric in and of itself is dangerous and that we need to be ratcheting down the rhetoric," White House representative Olivia Dalton said.

Medvedev said on Telegram on Thursday that it does not occur to the Western politicians who seek Russia's defeat what consequences that may bring to bear.

The elementary conclusion is such: "the defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may spark a nuclear war," Medvedev said. "Nuclear powers do not lose major conflicts, on which their fate depends. This should be obvious to any person," he said.