But he added that there was always a risk of a conflagration, noting that things could have turned out very differently had the rockets hit residential buildings in Ashkelon and killed Israeli civilians.
There is a risk of a regional Sunni-Shiite conflagration, as Saudi Arabia, which backed Bahrain's crackdown on Shiite protesters, has advocated arming Syria's opposition.
A century ago in Europe, years of peace and globalisation tempted leaders into thinking that they could afford to play with nationalist fires without the risk of conflagration.
Politeness is the lubricant that makes social interactions run smoothly and reduces the risk of conflagrations.
There are smart ways to allow increased logging on federal lands so that it not only benefits the timber industry but also reduces the risk of conflagrations.
There is even less doubt that the two former Cold War adversaries are drifting back into an arms race in which the risks of conflagration could quickly outweigh the benefits of mutual deterrence.
"Renouncing it would be a grave error, not respecting it would be irresponsible, because it is a good accord that is essential to peace at a time where the risk of a conflagration cannot be excluded," he said.
Seeking justice for Syria's war victims at the hands of President Bashar al-Assad at this time runs the risk of a conflagration between Russia and the United States, which have become enemies as surrogates of the pro- and anti-Assad protagonists in Syria.
A similar outcome after a runoff round might mean greater instability for a few months, and the risk of another conflagration at ballot-counting time, but perhaps this would be bad-but-manageable.
The latest will leave America and Russia with 1,550 strategic warheads apiece still over-armed, but down from many thousands more in the cold war.Yet the risk of global conflagration is past.
The possibility of weapons of mass destruction from Pakistan falling into the hands of Islamic extremists remains a worrisome concern, as does the risk of a nuclear conflagration with India.
