The Kremlin said on Thursday that changes to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine outlined by President Vladimir Putin should be considered a signal to Western countries that there will be consequences if they participate in attacks on Russia.
As reported by Reuters, Putin said on Wednesday that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles, and that Moscow would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.
The Kremlin’s decision to revise Russia’s official nuclear doctrine is a direct response to ongoing discussions in the United States and Britain regarding the potential for Ukraine to use conventional Western missiles against Russian targets.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said adjustments to a document called “The Foundations of State Policy in the Sphere of Nuclear Deterrence” had been formulated.
Asked by reporters if the changes were a signal to the West, Peskov said: “This should be considered a definite signal.”
“This is a signal that warns these countries about the consequences if they participate in an attack on our country by various means, and not necessarily nuclear ones,” Peskov said.
The world, Peskov said, was witness to an “unprecedented confrontation” which he said was provoked by the “direct involvement of Western countries, including nuclear powers” in the Ukraine war, Reuters reported.
Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Moscow was attempting to intimidate alliance members.
“Russia’s nuclear rhetoric is dangerous and reckless,” Stoltenberg said at the Council on Foreign Relations. “We are closely watching what Russia is doing.”
Peskov said a decision on whether or not to publish the nuclear documents would be made at a later date.
Russia’s current nuclear doctrine, established in a 2020 decree by President Putin, states that the country may use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack or a conventional attack that threatens its existence.
When asked about the potential rejection of a post-Soviet moratorium on nuclear tests, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated he couldn’t comment, noting that Wednesday’s meeting was largely confidential. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Putin’s remarks as “totally irresponsible.”
“I think many in the world have spoken clearly about that when he’s been rattling the nuclear sabre – including China, in the past,” he said in an interview with MSNBC on Thursday.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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First Published:
27 Sep 2024, 07:38 AM IST
Business NewsNewsWorldRussia-Ukraine war: Kremlin says changes to Russia’s nuclear policy are ‘definite signal’ to West
