President Vladimir Putin, speaking two days before the start of an election he is expected to easily win, has issued his latest of many warnings that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty is threatened, saying he hopes Washington will not do anything to trigger such a conflict.
In an interview broadcast on Russian state television on March 13, Putin, who faces no real challengers in his bid to win another six-year term in office, said he doesn't think the world is headed toward a nuclear conflict, but that his country is in full readiness and "from the military-technical viewpoint, we're prepared."
Since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine just over two years ago, Putin has often warned of a nuclear option in the war, including during his state-of-the-nation address last month.
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"Weapons exist in order to use them. We have our own principles," Putin said in the interview, adding that he is ready to use nuclear weapons if there is a threat to "the existence of the Russian state, our sovereignty and independence."
Putin added that there was no need at present to use nuclear weapons in the war against Ukraine, though in a thinly veiled reference to NATO and its allies, he said, "the nations that say they have no red lines regarding Russia should realize that Russia won't have any red lines regarding them either."
With his tight grip on politics, media, law enforcement, and other levers, the 71-year-old Russian leader, who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since 1999, is certain to win the March 15-17 election barring a very big, unexpected development.
Russian elections are tightly controlled by the Kremlin and are neither free nor fair but are viewed by the government as necessary to convey a sense of legitimacy.
During the election campaign Putin has repeatedly argued that the war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin mandates be called a "special military operation," was necessary to prevent Kyiv from posing a major security threat to Moscow by joining NATO.
With the war still grinding along almost 25 months later -- costing both sides tens of thousands of lives -- Putin said Russia would be willing to negotiate on Ukraine, but only if it is done on the basis of "reality."
Ukraine recovered much of the territory Russia initially seized in 2022. However, Kyiv's much-anticipated 2023 counteroffensive failed to make much progress, raising concerns the war had reached a stalemate.
Experts say that a negotiated settlement now would only benefit Russia, cementing its gains to date in Ukraine and allowing it to reconstitute its forces for a future attack. Such experts say Putin has not given up hope of conquering all of Ukraine.
"Are we ready for negotiations? Yes, we are ready, but only ready for negotiations, not based on some desires after the use of psychotropic drugs, but based on the realities that have developed, as they say in such cases, on the ground," Putin said.