ASTANA, November 28. /TASS/. Russia’s nuclear umbrella primarily extends to member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) under its revised nuclear doctrine, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said after a meeting of the bloc’s Foreign and Defense Ministers Councils and the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils on Thursday.

"First of all, I want to say that the old doctrine also stipulated this umbrella, as you call it, in particular, with regard to our allies. This was clearly and distinctly outlined. As for the new doctrine, this, naturally, refers, in the first place, to the CSTO countries. It has a separate additional provision, which is quite important, in my view, and applies to Belarus," Shoigu said on the sidelines of the joint meeting of the organization’s Foreign and Defense Ministers Councils and the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils in Astana.

Russia’s revised nuclear doctrine also stipulates the criteria for the use of nuclear weapons when aggression is launched against Belarus by conventional arms and when there is a threat to the very existence of Belarus, he elaborated.