Russian General Says Russia Could Use Nuclear Weapons to Prevent Attacks
By VOA News
19 January 2008
Russia's top military chief said Saturday that Russia could use nuclear weapons to prevent attacks.
Russia's Army Chief of Staff Yuri Baluyevsky (file photo)
General Yuri Baluyevsky says Russia has no plans to attack anyone. But he says the world must understand that military forces, including nuclear bombs, will be used to defend Russia if it faces a major threat.
Baluyevsky's comments come at a time of increasing tensions between Russia and the West. Relations have been strained due to several issues, including: plans for U.S. missile defense facilities in former Soviet countries; NATO's refusal to ratify a new conventional weapons treaty; and the mysterious murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko with a rare radioactive poison in London in 2006.
Source
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-01-19-voa14.cfm