NEW DELHI, India. March 29 (Interfax) - Russia is committed to the premise of the inadmissibility of a nuclear war despite the provocative behavior of the West in the Ukraine crisis, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev has said.
"The provocative behavior of the West in the context of the crisis in Ukraine may lead to catastrophic consequences. It contravenes the essence of the joint statement made by the leaders of the five nuclear powers on January 3, 2022, which reaffirmed the premise of the inadmissibility of a nuclear war," Patrushev said at a meeting of Security Council secretaries from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in New Delhi on Wednesday.
"For its part, Russia remains committed to this statement and, in keeping with its content, is convinced of the need to prevent any nuclear confrontation between states possessing nuclear weapons," Patrushev said.
Patrushev said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta earlier this week that a European or global conflict might be provoked by the West. Washington and London, "using Ukraine, would not mind whipping up a Europe-wide or even a global conflict, imagining that they will get away with all this," he said.
He also said in the interview that Russia was capable of destroying any enemy, including the United States, in the event of a threat to Russia's existence.
"Having forgotten the lessons of history, some in the West are already speaking about revenge that would lead to a military victory over Russia. The only thing we can say in response to this is that Russia is patient, and does not use military advantage to intimidate anyone. But Russia has advanced, unique weapons which are able to eliminate any adversary, including the U.S., in the event of a threat to its existence," Patrushev said.
He described as a "shortsighted absurdity" the opinion that the United States was able to deliver a preemptive missile strike in the event of a direct conflict, which Russia would be unable to retaliate against.
"For some reason, American politicians held captive by their own propaganda still believe that, in the event of a direct conflict with Russia, the United States can deliver a preemptive missile strike Russia won't be able to retaliate against. That's shortsighted foolishness, and a very dangerous one," Patrushev said.