There is no "appreciation for escalation". What there is, is appreciation for the fact that giving in to nuclear blackmail supercharges proliferation and makes

There is no "appreciation for escalation". What there is, is appreciation for the fact that giving in to nuclear blackmail supercharges proliferation and makes nuclear war much more likely, because now every state with expansionist designs realizes "Holy shit, if I have nukes I can take whatever I want as long as I threaten to go nuclear if I don't get it", and rushes to get nuclear weapons as fast as possible. By contrast, sending a hard No to irredentist states which threaten nuclear strikes if anyone opposes their expansion signals that it's not worth the effort to get nukes and that they won't help your expansionism.