Russia Reserves Right to Use Nuclear Weapons in Response to Aggression, General Staff Says - Sputnik International

(Sputnik) - Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to the use of weapons of mass destruction or regular weapons against it if the very existence of the country is threatened, Russian General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the ninth Moscow Conference on International Security, Gerasimov emphasised that Russia's nuclear policy is purely defensive in nature.

    "The Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons only in response to the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction against it or its allies, as well as in the event of aggression against the Russian Federation with the use of conventional weapons, when the very existence of the state is threatened," Gerasimov explained.

Russia has developed means to neutralise the threat posed by the US missile defense systems, the official assured....sputnik