Russia says US, NATO's 'increasing' involvement in Ukraine 'fraught with direct military clash of nuclear powers'
The Russian deputy foreign minister on Thursday 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."
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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.
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-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. Russia's concerns over US activities
The official also criticized the US and NATO's space programs, noting that Russia insists on drafting a multilateral legally binding instrument to prevent an arms race in outer space.
"The ineffective measures proposed by Western countries within the framework of the concept of so-called responsible behavior in space are not able to solve the main task -- to preserve outer space as a common security zone free from armed confrontation.
"On the contrary, they are conceived as a veil for the accelerated creation of a combat space potential and its application," he said.
Ryabkov named two more reasons for concern -- the US military's alleged biological activities in Ukraine, and the situation with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), saying it has not entered into force due to the US.
According to him, such actions show Washington's "obvious disposition to resume nuclear tests."
He added that Russia is ready to contribute to the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.
Ryabkov also recalled that The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) remains the foundation of the global architecture of international security, and there is no reason to talk about its crisis. Russia will not be 1st to test nukes
Russia will not be the first to test a nuclear device, Ryabkov told journalists after his address.
“We are not going to be the first to test a nuclear device,” Ryabkov told a press conference hosted by the UN journalists association (ACANU) at the Russian Mission in Geneva.
“Russia ratified the CTBT in 2000, which was preceded by a lengthy moratorium on nuclear testing,” said Ryabkov, referring to the treaty that has not been ratified by China, India, Israel, Iran, and the US.
“Russia is one of the most reliable partners in this effort. Not just because we fully observe our obligations and commitments in this area, but also because we have heavily invested into the development of the Russian segment of the so-called international monitoring system, which is an element of the CTBT machinery,” the Russian minister said.
Asked about the Russian-US bilateral relations, Ryabkov said communications with US Ambassador Lynn Tracy continue, there are visa problems, and even work of embassies is on the agenda as an issue that needs to be resolved.
"I would not like any further deterioration, the situation as a whole is quite alarming, and one should not underestimate how tense everything is in Russian-American relations," he said.
He said the US was hindering Russia's efforts to take part in an investigation of last September's Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions in the Baltic Sea.
