MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - Moscow will instantly react to the use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his annual address to the Federal Assembly.
"In our military doctrine, Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons only in response to the use of weapons of mass destruction against it or its allies or in the event of the use against us of conventional weapons, when the very existence of the state is threatened," Putin said.
"In this regard, I consider it my duty to say the following: we will regard any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies - small, medium, or any range - as a nuclear attack. The response will be instantaneous and with all subsequent consequences," Putin said.
No one should have any doubts about this, he said. "There is no need to create new threats to the world, there is a need to sit down at the negotiating table and work on the updated prospective system of international security, the stable development of civilization," Putin said, adding that all these offers still stand and that "Russia is ready for this."