Moscow, Europe Brief News – Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has cited risk of nuclear war as U.S., allies pledge more arms for Ukraine.
The conflict in Ukraine risked escalating into a third world war and that NATO was in essence engaged in a proxy war with Moscow by supplying Kyiv with weapons, Lavrov said.
Lavrov pointed out that the risk of a nuclear conflict must not be underestimated and that the core of any agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine would depend largely on the military situation on the ground.
Russia, Lavrov said, was doing a lot to uphold the principle of striving to prevent nuclear war at all costs.
“This is our key position on which we base everything. The risks now are considerable,” Lavrov said.
“I would not want to elevate those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it.”
Lavrov’s statements came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Kyiv and promised more military assistance to Ukraine. Austin said the United States wanted to see Russia “weakened” and pledged to arm Ukraine to help it win against Moscow.
The US is also due to host a gathering of more than 40 countries this week for Ukraine-related defence talks that will focus on more weapons deliveries.
Russia’s two-month-old invasion of Ukraine, the biggest attack on a European state since 1945, has left thousands dead or wounded, reduced towns and cities to rubble and forced more than 5 million people to flee abroad.
