Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking during the annual meeting of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights via videoconference in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
AZMOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday described the country’s nuclear arsenals as a deterrent factor in the Ukrainian conflict but demurred when challenged to make a pledge that Russia would not be the first to use them.
Asked by a member of the presidential Human Rights Council to commit Russia to forswearing a first strike, Putin responded that such an obligation might prevent Russia from tapping its nuclear arsenal even if it came under a nuclear attack.
“If it doesn’t use it first under any circumstances, it means that it won’t be the second to use it either, because the possibility of using it in case of a nuclear strike on our territory will be sharply limited,” Putin said.
He noted that Russia’s nuclear doctrine was based on the so-called “launch on warning” concept, which envisages the country employing nuclear weapons in the face of an imminent nuclear attack.
"It means that if we come under strike, we strike back in response," he said.
Russia's nuclear doctrine states the country can use nuclear weapons if it comes under a nuclear strike or if it faces an attack with conventional weapons that threatens “the very existence” of the Russian state.
Putin, who has repeatedly said during the fighting in Ukraine that Russia was ready to use “all available means” to protect its territory, rejected Western criticism of nuclear saber-rattling. He pointed at former British Prime Minister Liz Truss’ statement about her readiness to use nuclear weapons, saying he felt obliged to respond to that.
“I had to emphasize certain things in response,” Putin said. “Her comments went largely unnoticed, but they immediately emphasized our statements and used them to scare the world.”
The Russian leader further argued that Russia's nuclear weapons serve as a tool of deterrence amid the military operation in Ukraine, which is in its 10th month.
“We haven’t gone mad. We fully understand what nuclear weapons are,” Putin said. “We have them, and they are more advanced and state-of-the-art than what any other nuclear power has.”
He added: “We aren’t going to brandish those weapons like a razor running around the world, but we naturally proceed from their existence.”
“It's a factor of deterrence, not a factor provoking an escalation of the conflict," Putin said.
The Russian leader characterized the tactical nuclear weapons the United States deployed to Europe as a destabilizing factor. Russia, by contrast, hasn’t deployed any nuclear weapons outside its territory, Putin said, adding that “we naturally will defend our allies with all available means, if necessary.”
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