MOSCOW: The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed as “fiction” a Financial Times report that Chinese President Xi Jinping had personally warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The FT, citing unidentified Western and Chinese officials, reported that Xi had warned Putin at a face-to-face meeting in March.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the report, said: “I can’t confirm it.” He said the two nations had issued considerable detail in statements at the time on the content of their talks. “Everything else is fiction.”
The FT cited people close to the Kremlin as saying that Putin had independently decided using tactical nuclear arms would not give Russia an advantage. The sources said a strike was likely to turn areas that Putin has claimed for Russia into an irradiated wasteland while doing little to help his forces advance.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the report, said: “I can’t confirm it.” He said the two nations had issued considerable detail in statements at the time on the content of their talks. “Everything else is fiction.”
The FT cited people close to the Kremlin as saying that Putin had independently decided using tactical nuclear arms would not give Russia an advantage. The sources said a strike was likely to turn areas that Putin has claimed for Russia into an irradiated wasteland while doing little to help his forces advance.