MOSCOW

Nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, the Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated Wednesday as a principle of Moscow, a statement made amid heightened Western fears of the use of nuclear arms as the Ukraine war rages on.

On its official website, the ministry stressed that the Russian military doctrine pursues "solely defensive goals."

"We are strongly convinced that in the current complicated and turbulent situation, caused by irresponsible and impudent actions aimed at undermining our national security, the most immediate task is to avoid any military clash of nuclear powers," the ministry stressed.

The ministry said that as a permanent UN Security Council member and one of the world’s nuclear powers, in line with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, Russia considers itself a bearer of a special responsibility in matters related to strengthening international security and strategic stability.

"Russia proceeds from the continued relevance of the existing arrangements and understandings in the field of cutting and limiting nuclear weapons, as well as reducing strategic risks and threat of international incidents and conflicts fraught with escalation to nuclear level.

"We fully reaffirm our commitment to the Joint statement of the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states on preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms races of January 3, 2022," it said.

The Russian diplomatic service urged other nuclear powers "to demonstrate in practice their willingness to work on solving this top-priority task" and "to give up dangerous attempts to infringe on each other’s vital interests while balancing on the brink of a direct armed conflict and encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction, which can lead to catastrophic consequences."

"Russia continues to advocate for a revamped, more robust architecture of international security based on ensuring predictability and global strategic stability, as well as on the principles of equal rights, indivisible security, and mutual account of core interests of the parties," the ministry said.

Since the Ukraine war began this February, Western countries have interpreted various statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin as threatening to use nuclear weapons in the conflict. The Kremlin has denied any such threats.

Recently Russia has also warned Western countries of a supposed plot by Ukraine to use a dirty bomb (a conventional bomb laced with nuclear material) on its own territory and then blame Moscow. The Western countries rejected the claims, suggesting they may be meant to lay the groundwork for a Russian ruse along these lines.