Russia's nuclear doctrine allows use if territorial integrity breached, Ryabkov says

ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/. Russia's nuclear doctrine provides for the use of nukes if the country's territorial integrity is breached by aggressors, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov reminded reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

He also expressed hope that Yerevan would correct course and strengthen relations with Moscow.

According to Ryabkov, one of Russia’s current goals is to bring relations with the US back to normal.

TASS has gathered the key statements made by the senior Russian diplomat

Potential use of nuclear weapons

Encroachments on Russia’s territorial integrity by aggressors may lead to the use of nuclear weapons in the worst-case scenario: "In slightly straightforward terms, the message in these documents [Russia’s military doctrine and the Foundations of Russia’s State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence] is that an encroachment on Russia’s territorial integrity by aggressors, including those who may have such arms, could result in us retaliating by using these weapons."

Russia’s opponents should take its warnings as seriously as possible and refrain from testing the country’s commitment to defend itself by all means available: "It’s a warning and a message that should be taken as seriously as possible, and no one - speaking of our opponents - should try to test Russia’s resolve to use all available means of defense."

Armenia’s choice

Russia expects that Yerevan will make a historically correct choice to strengthen fraternal relations with Moscow: "I think that recent developments show Armenia has to make a choice. We expect it to be a historically correct choice to boost traditional and deep brotherly relations with Russia, which have always benefited the Armenian people, and I am sure that it will continue like that."

Need to normalize relations with US

Russia and the US are facing the need to bring relations back to normal: "I believe our goal at the moment is to take advantage of the time left before the next [US] presidential election in order to make sure that the progressive development of our relations with the US, their stability, and a return to normalcy cannot be reversed. That said, the goal we need to achieve is to make the process of normalization irreversible. Hopefully, we will accomplish the mission during Trump’s presidency."

IAEA’s double standards

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) practices double standards when it comes to Ukrainian strikes on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP): "There are lot of issues related to - let’s call a spade a spade - the double standards that the agency’s leadership has demonstrated in situations threatening nuclear and regional security. I am talking about their focus on certain conflicts, namely in the Middle East, and disregard for the outrageous crimes that Kiev has intensified recently, targeting Russia’s Zaporozhye nuclear plant."

Situation surrounding Iran

Russia’s proposal to remove spent uranium from Iran has not been taken up yet but Moscow hopes that the parties will resume discussions on it: "For now, the proposal has not been met with interest. Let’s hope that those directly involved in the negotiation process will go back to the issue," the senior diplomat noted.

Ongoing reciprocal strikes are delaying the prospect of a deal on Iran, but solid groundwork has already been laid: "We are witnessing another round of tit-for-tat strikes, which are delaying with the prospect of a deal. However, what we know in terms of the groundwork, in fact, a lot has been done and can be put into effect, especially if the parties adopt a constructive approach to the initiatives Russia has presented to them in order to find a solution to the issue of Iran’s highly enriched uranium that would suit all."