ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/. Russia will use any and all means necessary if it faces a threat to its existence, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

"Extreme means may be used if there is a threat to Russia’s statehood. In this case, we will certainly use all the resources and means that the Russian state has at its disposal," the president said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in response to a question about the hypothetical use of nuclear weapons.

He also pointed out that the US was the only country that had used nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear country. "They [the Americans] thought they had the right to do it. It was the United States that created such a precedent," Putin added.