The next major conflict between world powers will involve atomic armaments and will be catastrophic for the human race, Russia’s top diplomat has warned, amid an escalating standoff with the West over Moscow’s military attack on Ukraine.
Russian state news agency TASS reported on Wednesday that Sergey Lavrov had said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that “World War III would be a devastating nuclear war.”
He also claimed that if Ukraine gained access to atomic armaments, Russia would face “real danger.”
Lavrov’s remarks come after he explained at the Geneva disarmament conference on Tuesday that there will be no victor if a nuclear war were to erupt. Moscow’s top diplomat, who spoke via video link, also called on the US to remove its warheads from Europe. He also accused Kiev of threatening to violate its non-nuclear status.
“It is unacceptable to us that, contrary to the fundamental provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, US atomic armaments are still located on the territory of some European countries,” the veteran official remarked.
He went on to claim that “the dangers posed by [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky’s regime to neighboring countries and international security have increased significantly after Kiev’s authorities played dangerous games related to plans to acquire their own nuclear weapons.”
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered placing the country’s ground units, equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as vessels from the Northern and Pacific Fleets, on high combat alert on Sunday. He insisted that the move comes after the “illegitimate sanctions” against Moscow and “aggressive statements” made by US and EU officials.
Moscow’s armed forces launched the incursion into Ukraine last Thursday following the president’s address to the nation. The goal of the offensive, according to Putin, is to cripple Kiev’s military and remove so-called “Nazi elements” from the Eastern European nation.