White House 'deliberately misinterprets context' in reaction to Putin interview — Kremlin

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that in its reaction to Vladimir Putin’s interview with TV presenter Dmitry Kiselyov, the US administration was intentionally misinterpreting context, showing unwillingness to hear what the Russian president was saying.

"This is a deliberate distortion of context and unwillingness to hear President Putin. Again, this is nothing new. This is something that we have been observing in a focused way for a long time, especially over the past two years," Peskov said, commenting on White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's remarks that US President Joe Biden had been briefed on the Russian president’s statements on nuclear issues.

Peskov disagreed with journalists that Putin's interview caused hysteria in Washington. "I will not agree with you that this is hysteria. This is an absolutely deliberate taking out of context," he said. The Kremlin spokesman emphasized that "in his interview, Putin made no threats whatsoever about the use of nuclear weapons."

"He was answering the journalist's questions. These were exactly the journalist's questions, not any special statements by the president. The president was just talking about the reasons that could make the use of nuclear weapons inevitable. These are the reasons that are specified in our relevant documents, which are well known throughout the world," the Kremlin spokesman pointed out.

Moreover, "everyone in the West has intentionally dropped the words that that it never occurred [to Russia] to use, for example, tactical nuclear weapons, despite the various situations developing in the course of military operations."

Under its nuclear doctrine, Russia may use nuclear arms if the enemy uses these or other types of weapons of mass destruction against it or its allies; if there is reliable information about the launch of a ballistic missile attack on Russia and its allies; and if the enemy attacks facilities crucial to retaliatory actions by its nuclear forces; as well as in cases of aggression against Russia with conventional weapons that endanger the very existence of the state.

Earlier, Putin said in the interview that nuclear weapons could be used in case of a threat to the existence of the Russian state or damage to its sovereignty and independence.