There seems to be no end to the possibility of a nuclear clash between the United States and NATO, and Russia amid the war in Ukraine.

This, as Russian deputy foreign minister said the US and NATO’s increasing involvement in the conflict in Ukraine could result in a direct military clash of nuclear powers “with disastrous consequences.”

When Moscow speaks about such risks, its remarks are twisted for propaganda purposes, Sergey Ryabkov said in his address at the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Friday.

Ryabkov said he spoke in place of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who could not take part in the conference because of EU sanctions against him.

“We view this as an attempt of EU countries to evade an honest dialogue intended to facilitate the long-term improvement of global security and stability including by freeing the world from the burden of WMD (weapons of mass destruction)-related threats,” he said.

Ryabkov said the US and NATO’s “destructive steps” led to problems in international arms control architecture, which is based on four major treaties — Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which the US left in 2002, Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, from which Washington withdrew in 2019 and the Open Skies Treaty, from which the US withdrew in 2020.

According to him, Russia suspended its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New Start) after US attempts “to probe” the security of Russian strategic facilities declared under the pact by organizing Ukraine’s attacks on them.

The diplomat urged to address the situation and create an updated international security architecture, starting from dialogue on working out such options of equal and indivisible security that would ensure minimizing the accumulated conflict potential.

Ryabkov also voiced concern over the US and NATO activities in Asia-Pacific, warning that such actions may lead to “serious shocks” in the region.

CURRENTPH NEWS SERVICE