Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, maintains that any direct conflict between Russia and Europe could quickly escalate into a nuclear war. The statements come against the backdrop of several recent incidents between Russian forces and NATO states in northern Europe.
Russia would not wage a conventional war with Europe, but would directly resort to the use of nuclear weapons, declared the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.
“If Europe attacks Russia, it will be a completely different war and it will be very short,” said Lavrov, in a statement in which he did not specify what Moscow would consider a European attack on Russia.
The statements were made during a meeting with young Russians, titled “The New World Architecture: Open Dialogue with Sergey Lavrov”, organized as part of the educational marathon “Znanie. Pervîi”.
Excerpts from the speech were published by the news channel “Pul №3”, close to the Kremlin, and by the state agency RIA Novosti.
According to Lavrov, Russia hears every day claims that Europe is preparing to attack Russia. He presented a potential European attack as the scenario that would trigger a much more serious conflict.
The Russian minister, however, did not provide details about the nature of such an attack, nor did he explain why European states would initiate such a conflict.
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