China on Monday reiterated that nuclear weapons should not be used after its quasi-ally Russia warned it intends to change its policy on such weapons because of what it says is Western escalation of the war in Ukraine.
“China has repeatedly reiterated that nuclear weapons cannot be used or that a nuclear war cannot be fought,” said spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Mao Ning during a press conference in Beijing. She was responding to comments by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Ryabkov on Sunday told Russian state news agency Tass that there is a “clear intent” to make changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine, saying that this decision was related to escalation by Western “adversaries” of the Ukraine conflict.
According to Reuters, Russia’s existing 2020 nuclear doctrine stipulates that it may employ its nuclear arsenal in the event of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatens the existence of …