Top US diplomat Blinken calls Putin nuclear comments irresponsible

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russian President Vladimir Putin's warning to the West about nuclear weapons use irresponsible and poorly timed, as world leaders gathered in New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

"It's totally irresponsible, Blinken said in an interview with MSNBC on Thursday. "I think many in the world have spoken clearly about that when he's been rattling the nuclear sabre - including China, in the past. So I would just say especially to do that now, while the world's gathered... talking about the need for more disarmament, non-proliferation."

Putin warned the West on Wednesday that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles, as the U.S. and Britain weigh whether to give Ukraine permission to fire conventional Western missiles into Russia.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Alex Richardson)