Nuclear option shouldn’t be resorted to by any side, Rajnath tells Russian Defence Minister
In a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that the Ukraine conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. He insisted that the nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side.
Shoigu briefed Singh on the situation in Ukraine, a day after the Indian embassy in Ukraine asked Indian nationals to leave the country amid a fresh wave of hostilities.
In a statement, India’s defence ministry said Shoigu also spoke about the concerns pertaining to possible “provocations through use of ‘dirty bomb’”.
The ministry said that Singh reiterated India’s position on the need to pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy for an early resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.
“He pointed out that the nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side as the prospect of the usage of nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic tenets of humanity,” the statement said.
The two ministers also discussed bilateral defence cooperation.
After a restive period, hostilities between Russia and Ukraine have intensified after Moscow carried out retaliatory missile strikes targeting various Ukrainian cities in response to a blast on a key Crimean bridge nearly two weeks back.
