European leaders who threaten nuclear-armed Russia while assuming there will be no consequences are displaying “suicidal” incompetence and ignore basic realities, Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs has said.

In an interview with Afshin Rattansi on ‘Going Underground’ published on Monday, Sachs described the dismissal of Russian warnings that a direct conflict with NATO could escalate into nuclear war as “unbelievably reckless.”

Smaller European NATO nations that engage in hostile rhetoric act “a little bit like Israel... even radically more so,” believing the US will protect them in an actual conflict, he said.

“This is actually not how the world works and they are so reckless and stupid to talk in these terms,” Sachs stressed.

The West’s broader confrontation with Russia, which Sachs maintains was provoked by NATO’s 2008 declaration that Ukraine would eventually become a member, reflects “not only war profiteering” but also “a tremendous amount of incompetence and cowardice and unwillingness of these politicians to admit basic truths.”

Sachs also criticized US President Donald Trump for failing to follow through on an agreement he reached last year with Russian President Vladimir Putin to wind down the Ukraine conflict.

He lamented the UN’s inability to fulfill its role as guardian of world peace, arguing that Washington routinely disregards international rules.

“Essentially, the United States says: ‘We don’t obey any rules,’” he said.

Watch the entire interview.