Russian hawk pushes case for Putin to toughen policy on nuclear weapons

LONDON (Reuters) - Russia should clearly state its willingness to use nuclear weapons against countries that "support NATO aggression in Ukraine", according to an influential foreign policy hawk who is pressing President Vladimir Putin to adopt a more assertive nuclear posture towards the West.

Sergei Karaganov told Kommersant newspaper in an interview that Moscow could launch a limited nuclear strike on a NATO country without triggering all-out nuclear war. The United States, he added, was lying when it said that it guaranteed nuclear protection to its allies.

The main goal of Russia's nuclear doctrine, Karaganov said, "should be to ensure that all current and future enemies are sure that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons".

"It is time to declare that we have the right to respond to any massive strikes on our territory with a nuclear strike. This also applies to any seizure of our territory," he said, in comments published weeks after Ukraine captured a piece of Russia's Kursk region from which Moscow's forces are still fighting to eject it.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)