Risk of Russia using nuclear weapons has lessened, says Germany's Scholz
The risk of nuclear weapons being used in the Ukraine conflict has lessened "for the time being", says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"Russia has stopped threatening to use nuclear weapons in response to the international community marking a red line," Mr Scholz said.
On Wednesday, Russia's Vladimir Putin suggested that Moscow would only use nuclear weapons in retaliation.
But the US denounced the comments as "loose talk".
Russia's capacity to use nuclear weapons has come under increased scrutiny since it invaded Ukraine in February. In an address to the nation in September, Mr Putin said his country had "various weapons of destruction" and would "use all the means available to us", adding: "I'm not bluffing."
In an interview on Thursday, Mr Scholz said that his recent visit to China had contributed to "putting a stop" to the threat of nuclear escalation.
He said that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping were in agreement that "nuclear weapons must not be used" and that the G20 countries had reaffirmed this position shortly afterwards.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63900195