Russia's top diplomat has warned that NATO is now fighting a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine and there is a 'very serious' risk the conflict could turn nuclear.
Sergei Lavrov, speaking on Russian state TV last night, accused western leaders of risking a third world war by supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine with the goal of 'wearing down the Russian army' - an aim he described as an 'illusion'.
Accusing NATO and its allies of attempting to bully Russia on the international stage, Lavrov said that tensions between east and west are now worse than during the Cuban missile crisis at the height of the Cold War.
Asked directly about the possibility of a nuclear war, he replied: 'The risks are very significant. I do not want the danger to be artificially inflated [but] it is serious, real. It cannot be underestimated.'
Lavrov said: 'During the Cuban Missile Crisis there were not many "written" rules. But the rules of conduct were clear enough.
'Moscow understood how Washington was behaving. Washington understood how Moscow was behaving. Now there are few rules left.
He added: 'In those years, there was a channel of communication that both leaders trusted. Now there is no such channel. Nobody is trying to create it.'
America did set up a 'deconfliction line' to Moscow in the early days of the Ukraine war, but said the Russia side stopped answering.
Lavrov also repeated warnings that shipments of western weapons into Ukraine will be considered legitimate targets by Russia - a day after missiles struck the country's train network in an apparent attempt to stop the deliveries.
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May 6
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