Vladimir Putin has denied that Russia is fuelling nuclear tensions and countered western warnings that Moscow might be planning to detonate a “dirty bomb” in Ukraine in a false flag operation, saying he saw “no point” in a nuclear strike.
In a speech at an international relations forum on Thursday, in which he seemed to take a more conciliatory tone than in prior months, the Russian president repeated his frequent complaints that the west was seeking to dominate the world. But he concluded with a call for mutual respect, rather than issuing new threats.
Asked about the prospect of nuclear war, he said: “We have said nothing about using nuclear weapons.”