MOSCOW, August 3 (HS/RIA Novosti) - The Collective Security Treaty Organization's (CSTO) Collective Security Strategy and Russia's military doctrine allow for the possibility of using nuclear weapons, including to defend allies in the event of an attack, Russia's permanent representative to the CSTO, Viktor Vasilyev, told RIA Novosti.

He noted that the strategy, among the current challenges and threats to the CSTO's collective security, highlights the possibility of an increase in the number of states possessing military nuclear capabilities, as well as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

The documents adopted in furtherance of this Strategy, as well as the military doctrine of the Russian Federation, allow for the possibility of using nuclear weapons, including to defend allies in the event of an attack, Vasilyev said, answering whether Russia could deploy its nuclear weapons in other CSTO countries, like it did in Belarus.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar