Russia: Risks of direct nuclear confrontation with US keep growing

Russia has warned that risks of direct nuclear confrontation with the United States are constantly increasing as a result of Washington's hostile attitude towards Moscow since the beginning of the Ukraine war.

Director of Russian Foreign Ministry's Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department Vladimir Yermakov raised the alarm in an interview with Russia's TASS news agency on Tuesday.

"If the US continues to follow its current course towards a standoff with Russia, while constantly raising the stakes on the verge of a direct military conflict, then the fate of the New START Treaty may become sealed," he said.

The New START was signed in April 2010 by then US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, under which both sides agreed to halve the number of strategic nuclear missiles and restrict the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550, the lowest level in decades.

The New START agreement was extended in February 2021 until February 4, 2026, by US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

On February 21, 2023, however, Russia suspended its participation in the New START amid Washington's increasingly confrontational policies towards Moscow. It did not withdraw from the treaty, though, clarifying that it would continue to abide by the limits on the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed under the New START.

Moscow suspends New START to thwart US intel collection

Moscow says leaving the New START nuclear arms control treaty has given Russia new security options.

"...in the worst-case scenario, i.e. if Washington drives the situation to a military clash between the strongest nuclear powers, then it is not the fate of the New START, but the fate of the entire world that will be a concern," Yermakov said.

"This once again confirms that the most pressing threat today is connected not with the dynamic of stimuli for the first massive strike, which is supposed to be curbed by agreements like the New START, but with a danger of nuclear escalation as a result of a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers," Yermakov explained, adding, "And, to our deepest regrets, these risks keep growing."

The diplomat underscored that in order to improve the situation, "the US must immediately take concrete steps on de-escalation and abolish the hostile course towards undermining Russia’s security in practice."

"There is simply no other way to reverse the negative trend," Yermakov concluded.

He was apparently referring to the United States' ongoing military assistance to Ukraine, which is engaged in a war with Russia.

Washington has announced 36 military aid packages for Kiev since the start of the conflict last February, which brings total US military assistance for Ukraine to more than $35 billion.

The Russian diplomat was also pointing to Washington encouraging eastward expansion of the US-led NATO military alliance towards Russia's borders.

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