‘Now, There is a Real And Serious Threat Of Nuclear War’, Warns Russia

"I don't want them artificially inflated. There are many who would wish for it. The danger is serious, real. It cannot be underestimated," he said.

Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday outlined in an interview that Russia’s starting position is that “atomic war should be unacceptable” and “Moscow successfully persuaded the US and other nuclear powers to agree on that back in January”.

However, he added that the situation has since deteriorated to the point where “there is a real and serious threat”.

Lavrov explained in the interview that Moscow tried to persuade former US President Donald Trump to recommit to the 1987 statement by the US and Soviet leaders that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, and that such a war should never be fought, reported RT.

While the Trump administration declined to do so, his successor Joe Biden “quickly” agreed with Moscow, and the statement was made at the June 2021 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.

China, France, and the UK, the remaining three nuclear powers that are also permanent members of the UN Security Council, agreed as well and made a joint statement.

“This is our principled position. We start from it,” Lavrov said adding, “However, the risks of nuclear war are now very significant.”

“I don’t want them artificially inflated. There are many who would wish for it. The danger is serious, real. It cannot be underestimated,” he said.

Lavrov also praised as “good and wise” the Biden administration’s first foreign policy move, which was to agree with Russia that the New Start treaty should be unconditionally extended for five years.

On the other hand, it is the last arms control agreement left standing, after Washington pulled out of the ABM, INF, and Open Skies treaties.

(With agency inputs)