Jeffrey Sachs: Ignoring Russia's Nuclear Arsenal Is 'Suicide' (Video)

Jeffrey Sachs, professor at Columbia University, condemned European leaders for their hostile rhetoric toward nuclear-armed Russia.

European leaders who threaten a nuclear-armed Russia while assuming there will be no consequences are showing "suicidal" incompetence and ignoring basic facts, Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs said.

In an interview with Afshin Rathnessi on the Underground show that aired Monday, Sachs called it "incredibly reckless" to ignore Russian warnings that direct conflict with NATO could escalate into nuclear war.

He said the small European NATO countries that engage in hostile rhetoric, "a little bit like Israel ... even a lot more," believe that the United States will protect them in a real conflict.

"That's not the way the world actually is, and they're too reckless and stupid to talk in those terms," Sachs emphasized.

The West's wider confrontation with Russia, which Sacks believes was sparked by NATO's announcement in 2008 that Ukraine would eventually join, reflects "not only war profiteering" but "a tremendous amount of incompetence and cowardice and the unwillingness of these politicians to admit basic truths."

Sachs also criticized US President Donald Trump for failing to implement an agreement he reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin last year to end the Ukraine conflict.

He lamented the inability of the United Nations to fulfill its role as guardian of world peace, arguing that Washington routinely ignores international law.

"Essentially, the United States is saying, 'We don't follow any laws,'" he said.