Karaganov: strikes on Russian territory should be a reason for the use of nuclear weapons
MOSCOW, October 13 - RIA Novosti. Russia's nuclear doctrine was reckless, it needs to be changed in practice, Sergei Karaganov, scientific director of the Faculty of World Economics and World Politics at the Higher School of Economics, told RIA Novosti.
According to him, this applies not only to the conflict with the West in Ukraine.
"Now the world has entered an acute period of prolonged crises and wars associated with the restructuring of the world system ... If this tool does not work, then we are doomed to a series of wars and then to a big war," Karaganov stressed.
Earlier, in June 2023, Karaganov, in his article for the magazine Russia in Global Politics, stated that the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons was "recklessly raised" in the Russian doctrine. According to him, the aggressiveness of Western elites is growing, and he sees no other way to awaken their sense of self-preservation, except through strengthening nuclear deterrence.
Karaganov also moderated the plenary session of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum in June 2024 with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the plenary session, he repeatedly raised the issue of the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and the West. For example, he said that the conflict in Ukraine would not be completed without "speeding up the ladder of nuclear escalation" and that this would help "save a large number of lives." He also noted that it may be too early to move towards nuclear escalation, but "it is necessary to move towards this."
Putin, in turn, replied that he proceeds from the fact that the world will never reach nuclear missile strikes and Russia does not need this, Moscow does not rattle nuclear weapons. At the same time, he did not rule out making changes to the Russian nuclear doctrine.
Then, in September of this year, at the annual meeting of the permanent meeting of the Security Council on nuclear deterrence, Putin proposed lowering the nuclear threshold. The President stated that Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in case of aggression, including if the enemy, using conventional weapons, poses a critical threat to sovereignty. He suggested considering aggression by a non-nuclear state with the participation of a nuclear one as their joint attack on Russia. In addition, the president proposed to supplement the doctrine with a clause allowing Moscow to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against Belarus as a member of the Union State.
The President explained the need to change the nuclear doctrine by the importance of predicting the situation and adapting this strategic planning document to current realities.
