(Dan Tri) – Russia’s top diplomat warned of a catastrophic scenario if the world’s leading nuclear powers broke out in conflict.
A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile complex (Photo: TASS).
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on April 22 criticized the military support of the US, UK and France for Ukraine.
Russia’s extraordinary military campaign in Ukraine caused the worst breakdown in relations between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Two days after the US House of Representatives passed an additional military aid bill for Ukraine, Foreign Minister Lavrov accused Washington and NATO of being obsessed with the idea of causing `strategic defeat` to Russia.
Mr. Lavrov said that the West’s support for Ukraine is pushing the US and its allies to the brink of direct military conflict with Russia.
Speaking at a conference in Moscow on nuclear non-proliferation, Mr Lavrov said: `The West stands precariously on the brink of a direct military conflict between nuclear powers, which could cause
Since the outbreak of hostilities, Russia has repeatedly warned of increased nuclear risks, a move the United States says it must take seriously, although Washington says it sees no change in policy.
As relations deteriorated, Russia and the United States both expressed regret over the disintegration of the network of arms control treaties intended to slow the Cold War arms race and reduce the risk of nuclear war.
Russia and the United States are by far the world’s largest nuclear powers, holding more than 10,600 of the world’s 12,100 nuclear warheads.
Mr. Lavrov said that, due to the current crisis, Russia has no basis for dialogue with the US on arms control.
`In the context of an all-out war taking place against us, there is no basis for dialogue with the United States on arms control and strategic stability in general,` he said.
He accused the West of trying to impose restrictions on Russia’s and China’s nuclear arsenals and developing non-nuclear capabilities to achieve unilateral military superiority.
Mr. Lavrov said the West is building a global missile defense system that can attack opponents;
In February, Russia declared its opposition to the deployment of nuclear weapons in space and rejected Washington’s accusations that Moscow was developing nuclear capabilities in space.
The US says it is developing defense capabilities in accordance with international agreements.
Mr. Lavrov also accused the West of conducting a propaganda campaign to discredit Russia.