No country on earth would survive should the world's most powerful nuclear states unleash their atomic weapons, Vladimir Putin has said. His remarks form part of a series of interviews with American film director Oliver Stone.

The question of whether the human race would survive a potential global nuclear war has tormented the minds of generations, and indeed Stone, who wondered if the Russian president believes the US might emerge victorious if such a conflict were to break out.

"In a hot war is the US dominant?" the American director asked the Russian president.

"I don't think anyone would survive such a conflict," Putin replied in a short Showtime teaser, a precursor to a documentary titled 'The Putin Interviews' that will be aired next week.