"We retain the right to launch a preventive strike," said Sergei Ivanov, who is also a deputy prime minister.
But he added that nuclear weapons would not be used in such a situation.
"The methods and measures are naturally not a subject for discussion," Ivanov said. "Anything could be used except for nuclear weapons as long as it is effective."
In July last year after a string of terrorist attacks throughout the world, President Vladimir Putin told at a meeting with high-ranking officials in the Kremlin that Russia retained the right to use preventive strikes against terrorists.
The idea of a preventive strike was first voiced when Russia accused Georgia of harboring terrorist groups in the Pankisi Gorge, which borders on Chechnya.
