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© Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a plenary session of the international economic forum in St. Petersburg, Russia June 16, 2023. Sputnik/Ramil Sitdikov/Host photo agency via REUTERS
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin said Russia could “theoretically” use nuclear weapons if there was a threat to the country’s territorial integrity or existence, but it did not need to.
Putin spoke at the plenary session of the international economic forum in St. Petersburg.
“Nuclear weapons were made to ensure our security in the broadest sense and the existence of the Russian state, but we… have no need (to use them),” the Russian president said.
(Translated by Chiara Bontacchio, editing by Gianluca Semeraro)