The “top priority” is to avoid a war between nuclear powers, which would have “catastrophic consequences,” Russian diplomacy said on Wednesday in full tension between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.
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“In the difficult and turbulent situation we find ourselves in, which is the result of irresponsible and shameless actions aimed at undermining our national security, the main priority is to prevent any confrontation between nuclear powers,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Foreign Affairs.
Russia is calling on other countries with the ultimate weapon to “solve this priority task” by stopping their “dangerous attempts to interfere with the vital interests of others.”
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“Catastrophic Consequences”
If Western countries aiding Ukraine continue “to stand on the brink of direct armed conflict (with Moscow) and encourage provocations using weapons of mass destruction,” the consequences could be “disastrous,” Russian diplomacy added.
“Russia remains guided by the principle that a nuclear war in which there can be no winner is inadmissible and must never break out,” the ministry said.
However, he recalled that Moscow’s nuclear doctrine provides for “strictly defensive” recourse to nuclear weapons in the event of an attack on Russia with weapons of mass destruction or in the event of aggression with conventional weapons that “threaten the very existence of the state”.
The comments come as Western countries accuse Moscow of brandishing the threat of nuclear war to dissuade it from supporting Ukraine, where Russia has been leading a military offensive since late February.
threat
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials have repeatedly issued more or less veiled statements citing the possible use of nuclear weapons.
The American newspaper The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed American officials, that Russian military leaders recently discussed the possibility of using a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine that is less powerful than a conventional nuclear bomb.
Mr. Putin did not take part in these exchanges and no signs of preparation were detected, said these anonymous sources. But those discussions have heightened concerns in western capitals, which are wondering if the Kremlin’s threats can come true, according to the daily.