Vladimir Putin: Hopefully we'll never have to nuke Isis. 'Hopefully'

Vladimir Putin has expressed hope that Russia will never have to use nuclear weapons against Isis.

At a meeting with defence chiefs in the Kremlin, the Russian president apparently championed the firing of cruise missiles from submarines in the Mediterranean.

State-funded Russia Today quotes Putin as saying:

We must analyse everything happening on the battlefield, how the weapons operate. The Kalibrs [sea-based cruise missiles] and KH-101 [airborne cruise missile] have proved to be modern and highly effective, and now we know it for sure - precision weapons that can be equipped with both conventional and special warheads, which are nuclear.

Naturally, this is not necessary when fighting terrorists and, I hope, will never be needed.

...

Earlier this week, before his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US dominated news agendas, Donald Trump's fellow Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz appeared to suggest a nuclear attack on the Middle East was needed to destroy Isis.

Speaking in Iowa, Senator Cruz said:

We will utterly destroy Isis. We will carpet bomb them into oblivion. I don’t know if sand can glow in the dark, but we’re going to find out [cheers from the crowd].

'Hope.'

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