Moscow Not Threatening Anyone With Nuclear Weapons Russian Ryabkov

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MOSCOW, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday that Moscow does not threaten anyone with nuclear weapons and that open confrontation with the United States and NATO is not in Russia’s interests, state agencies reported news. “We are not threatening anyone with nuclear weapons,” Ryabkov said at a conference on Friday, according to the Interfax news agency. “The criteria for their use are outlined in Russia’s military doctrine.” President Vladimir Putin told the West this week that he was “not bluffing” when he said he would use nuclear weapons if Russia’s territorial integrity was threatened. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Four Russian-controlled regions in Ukraine are holding referendums this weekend on whether to join Russia. Putin said he supported the move, which has raised the prospect of Russia formally annexing another 15 percent of Ukraine’s territory. Russian officials, including former president Dmitry Medvedev, have said that, after the regions are incorporated into Russia, any attack on them by Ukrainian forces will be considered an attack on Russia. Under Russia’s nuclear doctrine, this could allow the use of nuclear weapons if Moscow feels it faces an “existential threat”. Medvedev said it had the ability to use long-range strategic nuclear weapons. However, Ryabkov said Russia does not seek “open confrontation” with the United States or the NATO military alliance and does not want the situation to escalate further. “We hope the Biden administration is also aware of the risk of an uncontrolled escalation of the conflict in Ukraine,” he was quoted as saying. Announcing Russia’s first mobilization since World War II on Wednesday, Putin said Russia was fighting not only against Ukraine, but all the military assets of Western countries supporting Kyiv. Also speaking on Friday, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said he wanted to believe “that despite all the difficulties, Moscow and Washington are not on the verge of collapsing into the abyss of a nuclear conflict,” RIA news News. the agency reported. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Report from Reuters. Editor: Kevin Liffey Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.