Press
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sees Russia and the USA on the brink of war. Poland's President Duda is now ready to station nuclear weapons.
Moscow – The decision of the US House of Representatives to declare Ukraine in War with Russia with a $61 billion aid package continues to cause saber rattling in the Kremlin. After a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry told the USA after the vote on Saturday (April 20). from a humiliation comparable to the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan had warned, her boss has now also spoken out: The USA and other Western nations are balancing on the “dangerous edge” of war with Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov threatened on Monday (April 22).
Lavrov warns of “catastrophic consequences” of a war between Russia and the USA
In one Video message To the participants of the Moscow “Nonproliferation Conference,” Lavrov accused the USA and NATO of “dreaming, Russia to inflict a strategic defeat“. They are ready to “continue their policy of deterring our country to the last Ukrainian,” Lavrov claimed. He spoke of the “dangerous edge of a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers, which could have catastrophic consequences.”
“We are particularly concerned that the three Western nuclear powers are among the main sponsors of the criminal Kiev regime and the main organizers of various provocations. “This could lead to serious strategic risks and increase the level of nuclear threat,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov uses conference for general attack on the West
According to the organizer, the Russian Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS), the conference is one of the leading discussion platforms on the topics of nuclear non-proliferation, arms control and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Lavrov also talked about disarmament attempts, treaties and agreements to limit nuclear arsenals worldwide.
Above all, he used the appearance as a general attack on the “collective West led by the USA”. This is destroying balanced agreements and working to gain a one-sided military advantage by setting new limits on nuclear arsenals while at the same time establishing the West's overall superiority in the non-nuclear field, the accusation goes.
Russia sees no basis for talks with the West – is there a threat of nuclear war?
There is “no basis for a dialogue on arms control and strategic stability with the United States in the face of a total hybrid war being waged against our country,” complained the Foreign Minister. Russia withdrew from the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in November 2023. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously announced in August 2022 that it would initially suspend controls on nuclear weapons stockpiles within the framework of the New START Treaty.
The New START Treaty was signed in 2010 and is intended to limit the number of strategic nuclear weapons used by the United States and Russia. The Russian side justified the withdrawal at the time by saying that its inspectors could not fly to the USA due to the sanctions against Russian aircraft.
In February 2023, Vladimir Putin completely suspended New-START for the first time. At the same time, he explained that they wanted to continue to adhere to the upper limits for nuclear delivery systems and that this was not an exit from the last major agreement between the USA and Russia.
Wladimir Putin has often said in the past that an end to the agreement, which expires in 2026, could lead to a new nuclear arms race. Since the beginning of the war, Russian TV and officials have repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons. Putin also recently warned the West of “tragic consequences.”
USA: Russia could “end the conflict today”
In his speech in Moscow, Lavrov spoke of an “openly hostile anti-Russian policy” by the USA. The conflict can only be resolved through the “central problem” that Russia claims to have identified: “NATO's aggressive eastward expansion,” as Putin's ally calls it. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken only said at the celebrations for NATO's 75th anniversary that the future of Ukraine lay in NATO, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also emphasized that Ukraine is “closer than ever to membership”.
The US government reacted calmly to Lavrov's statements. This is what the magazine quotes Newsweek A US State Department representative said: “We have made it clear: the US does not seek confrontation with Russia.”
The focus “has been and continues to be on supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russia's unprovoked and illegal invasion,” the official said. “And let’s not forget that Russia could end the conflict today by withdrawing its forces and ceasing its attacks on Ukraine.”
Duda ready to station nuclear weapons in Poland – Tusk surprised
Meanwhile, in Poland, Polish President Andrzej Duda declared on Monday (April 22) his willingness to station nuclear weapons on Polish territory. “If our allies decide to station nuclear weapons on our territory within the framework of nuclear sharing in order to strengthen NATO's eastern flank, we are ready to do so,” Duda said in an interview with the Polish tabloid fact. Possibly stationing nuclear weapons in Poland has been discussed “for some time” between Poland and the USA, said Duda.
He probably also surprised the country's head of government, Donald Tusk. He demanded further details from Duda. “The idea is very massive and very serious, I would say. “I should know all the circumstances that led the president to make this statement,” Tusk said.
He wants to meet with Duda to understand his intentions. In Poland, the president is commander-in-chief of the army. The first warnings have already come from Russia. “Military representatives will of course analyze the situation and, in any case, take all necessary measures in response to guarantee our security,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. (flon)
#USA #Russia #brink #war