On June 22, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov rejected speculation by US Senators about the risk of Moscow deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine and said that this would escalate tensions.
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| Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov has denied the possibility of Russia deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine at the present time. (Source: AFP) |
In a speech on June 22, Ambassador Antonov affirmed: "Speculations that Russia could use tactical nuclear weapons are absurd."
According to him, the above rumors from US lawmakers only contribute to escalating tensions, thereby pushing the situation to a more dangerous level.
Previously, on June 22, US Senator Lindsey Graham revealed that US lawmakers were introducing a resolution that would consider Russia's use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine an attack on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Therefore, the Russian Ambassador strongly objected and said that this was a "crazy initiative".
In particular, Mr. Antonov emphasized that Russia's deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is entirely based on legal grounds.
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| Russia's Iskander short-range missile system can be equipped with conventional or nuclear warheads. (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense) |
“We did not violate any international obligations and did exactly what the Americans have been doing for decades – deploying nuclear bombs on the territory of our European allies,” Ambassador Antonov asserted.
Previously, on June 21, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the "aggressive" policies of the US and NATO were causing the parties to sink deeper into military confrontation, leading to the possibility of direct conflict between nuclear powers.
At a press conference on June 21, Ms. Zakharova shared that the biggest danger now is that the US and NATO continue to accelerate the risk of conflict, as the parties are increasingly drawn deeper into military confrontation, through "aggressive" policies aimed at causing strategic defeat for Russia in the conflict in Ukraine.
The above policies - considered by Russia as "reckless" - entail the risk of "direct armed conflict between nuclear powers".
According to the spokesman, realizing the seriousness of the situation, Russia has “systematically sent warning signals to Western countries.”
Besides, Ms. Zakharova asserted, the problem of Western countries is simply that they are obsessed with opposing Russia and using the conflict to make Moscow fail.
“That shows they are not ready to fully understand our position. Western countries must bear full responsibility for making the situation worse,” she added.
According to her, Russia is determined to protect its security interests to the end and the West “should not doubt this”.
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