In an interview with the 60 Minute TV show on December 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that nuclear war will not bring good results and should not be launched under any circumstances.
However, Mr. Lavrov still noted that Russia will not hesitate to use all available means to protect national interests and Moscow's patience is limited.
The Foreign Minister affirmed that Russia will never start to promote the use of nuclear weapons, and expressed hope that the nuclear powers will consider the consequences of this action.
Mr. Lavrov said that this has been mentioned many times by Russian President Vladimir Putin in negotiations with US President Joe Biden, then presented to the 5 permanent members (UK, France, US, Russia, China) of the United Nations Security Council in 2021.
According to Foreign Minister Lavrov, the prospects for a nuclear war are all coming from Western countries. Mr. Lavrov also mentioned the US statement in November that Washington was ready to carry out nuclear attacks but only did so under conditions that were considered the most suitable.
In early 2024, Russia accused public hostilities and a series of moves that were believed to be intentional sabotage of Western arms control agreements that could lead to a catastrophic war between nuclear powers.
Mr. Lavrov said that Moscow has no intention of further straining issues related to nuclear weapons and their serious consequences. Instead, Russia would be happy to help Westerners not worry about building a nuclear shelter.
However, Russia's claim to the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile as destructive as a nuclear weapon has increased the demand for nuclear shelter among Americans fourfold, according to a survey from the shelter company in Texas (USA) in mid-December.
Speaking at a meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry last week, President Vladimir Putin said that the strong Western military support for Kiev is pushing Moscow to the point where it cannot be left unprepared.
Finally, Mr. Lavrov reiterated that, We resolutely maintain the view that no one can win a nuclear war, but emphasized that other countries should not provincece Russia with extreme actions to protect their interests.