US has 'no intention' of using chemical weapons: White House

The United States has "no intention" of using chemical weapons under any circumstance even if Russia uses such weapons in Ukraine, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Friday.

"There will be a severe price if Russia uses chemical weapons. And I won't go beyond that other than to say the United States has no intention of using chemical weapons, period, under any circumstance," he told reporters on board Air Force One.

Sullivan said there was now a "convergence" between Western leaders on what measures to take in case Russia uses chemical weapons and added that the White House had set up a working group on the issue.


"We have made considerable efforts to put ourselves in a position to respond effectively," he said, shortly before a plane carrying US President Joe Biden landed in Poland -- around 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the border with Ukraine.