New Delhi: Russia will not use nuclear weapons in the ongoing war against Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin’s aide said Monday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview: “Any outcome of the operation (in Ukraine), of course, is not a reason for the usage of a nuclear weapon.”
Peskov told PBS Newshour that Russia would use its nuclear arsenal only if there was a threat to the country’s existence. He said: “We have a security concept that very clearly states that only when there is a threat for the existence of the state, in our country, we can use and we will actually use nuclear weapons to eliminate the threat for the existence of our country.”
The latest round of talks between Russia and Ukraine will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hoped that the in-person talks would be successful. Lavrov said a meeting between Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be meaningless unless the delegates had made some progress.
Peskov said the two country’s delegates had not made any “significant achievements or breakthroughs” so far but it was important to continue talks in person.
The last round of talks was virtually held two weeks ago, following earlier face-to-face negotiations in Russian ally, Belarus.
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