MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Only Western countries continue to present scenarios that could lead to a nuclear war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated during Rossiya-1’s "60 Minutes" program.

"We have never initiated discussions about what to do with nuclear weapons and whether it’s possible to use them. On the contrary, it was at Russia’s initiative that the Gorbachev-Reagan formula that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed was reinstated first at the level of Putin and Biden and later, at the level of the five nuclear countries that are the permanent members of the UN Security Council," the top diplomat highlighted.

"All other proposals, including concepts for a nuclear war or similar statements, have exclusively originated from Western capitals," Lavrov noted.

"The Chief of Staff of the German army recently declared with pride: ‘Let Russia not try too hard to intimidate us, but remember that NATO is a nuclear alliance.’ Everyone recalls the comment by [former British Prime Minister] Liz Truss, who during her tenure, openly stated that she would not hesitate to press the nuclear button. French officials have also reminded the global community that their nation is a nuclear power," the Russian foreign minister elaborated.

He also emphasized, "Just recently, a Pentagon general publicly suggested that, if necessary, limited nuclear strikes could be exchanged with Russia, ensuring a victory in the process."

"We directly asked them to clarify what this statement truly implied since it came from a Pentagon official. However, they failed to provide a definitive answer, instead attempting to downplay the significance of such remarks by claiming it was purely theoretical and didn’t reflect any serious intent," Lavrov said. "Can such an explanation really be considered credible when coming from a senior defense official?" he questioned.