BOTLIKH. July 11 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia may carry out pre-emptive strikes against international terrorists in any part of the world to protect itself and its citizens, though it rules out the use of nuclear weapons in such strikes, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Tuesday.
"If we know that a terrorist act against Russia or its citizens is being organized in any region of the world, we reserve the right to carry out a strike to eliminate this threat," Ivanov told reporters in the Russian North Caucasus town of Botlikh.