At a press conference with his Yemeni counterpart Shayea Mohsen Al-Zindani, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Russian authorities were now clarifying the doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons.
The Americans clearly associate (…) talk of World War III as something that, God forbid, could affect Europe exclusively. (…) And in this situation (…) it is very important to realise that we have our own doctrine, including the one on the use of nuclear weapons, which, by the way, is now being clarified, and of which American officials are very well aware.
In late June, Russian President Vladimir Putin had already mentioned that Moscow might make changes to its nuclear doctrine. The leader stated that the revision of the existing restrictions was related to the development of so-called “explosive nuclear devices of ultra-low capacity.”
In July, Sergey Ryabkov, deputy head of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, also suggested that the doctrine could be clarified, as it contained too general wording.
