Premature to Assess Anticipated US Nuclear Doctrine Revision - Kremlin

Russia first needs to understand in what direction the United States' expected nuclear doctrine's revision will head before drawing conclusions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said on Tuesday that Washington could revise its nuclear doctrine as early as in spring 2017.

"First we need to understand what these intentions are, how it [the doctrine] will be changed. Then can any conclusions be made," Peskov told reporters.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump hinted in an interview at the possibility of lifting anti-Russian sanctions imposed over the Ukrainian crisis in return for nuclear arms reduction agreement with Moscow.

A source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Tuesday that Moscow hoped the revised doctrine, unlike the existing one, would be more specific on the circumstances calling for a US nuclear strike. He stressed that the current nuclear doctrine envisioned "theoretical use of nuclear weapons in all instances" when the vital US interests were threatened, which is a rather unclear wording.

The ministry's source added that revision of doctrines was "a routine step."

The previous nuclear doctrine was developed under Barack Obama administration, and its unclassified part was made public in April 2010.