Geneva: A Russian minister warned on Thursday that increased Western support for Ukraine could lead to an open conflict between the nuclear powers. At the UN Conference on Disarmament, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov slammed the US and its allies for openly declaring the goal of defeating Russia in a ‘hybrid’ war.
He said that this is a violation of the discharge of obligations under international agreements and due to this, the war in Ukraine is getting out of control. Rybakov warned that ‘the US and NATO’s policy of fueling the conflict in Ukraine’ and ‘their increasing involvement in the military confrontation could provoke a direct military confrontation between the nuclear powers with disastrous consequences.’
He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to suspend the 2010 New START Treaty came in response to US and NATO action on Ukraine. This was Russia’s last remaining nuclear weapons deal with the US. Ryabkov also blamed the United States for its failure to ratify a global ban on nuclear weapons and confirmed Putin’s warning that Moscow would resume nuclear tests if the United States did so.
