Russia on Wednesday said avoiding a clash between the world’s nuclear powers was its top priority amid the ongoing war with Ukraine, while accusing the West of “encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction”.
“We are strongly convinced that in the current complicated and turbulent situation, caused by irresponsible and impudent actions aimed at undermining our national security, the most immediate task is to avoid any military clash of nuclear powers,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Russia also said it feared the five declared nuclear powers were teetering “on the brink of a direct armed conflict” and that the West must stop “encouraging provocations with weapons of mass destruction, which can lead to catastrophic consequences”.
Moscow also reaffirmed its commitment to the joint declaration issued together with the United States, China, Britain, and France in January “on the prevention of nuclear war and the avoidance of an arms race from Jan. 3, 2022.”
Russia has been seeking to play down the nuclear attack narrative in the wake of accusations from the West. Last month, President Vladimir Putin said he had no intentions of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. “We see no need for that,” Putin said. “There is no point in that, neither political, nor military.”
In September, Putin had said Russia would use ‘all available means’ to protect its territory in remarks that were majorly interpreted in the West as threats to use nuclear weapons to defend parts of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed.
He also said the United States had created a “precedent” at the end of the Second World War when it dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.
(With Reuters inputs)
