Russian President, Vladimir Putin has warned of a potential nuclear war if NATO states were to militarily intervene in his conflict in Ukraine.
“The West should remember that
Russia also has weapons that could hit targets on its territory,” he told 1,000
representatives from politics, business, culture and religion at his State of
the Nation address to both houses of parliament.
The 71-year-old, set to be
re-elected next month, emphasised that any escalation and the use of nuclear
weapons could lead to the “extinction of civilization.
NATO countries had sent Ukraine
substantial amounts of military weapons to try to repel Russia’s invasion, now
into its third year, but the Western defence alliance had yet to send its own
troops.
The consequences of such a move
could be tragic, Putin said, while at the same time rejecting claims that
Russia wanted to attack the West as “nonsense.”
However, Russia would further
strengthen its western flank due to the supposed danger posed by the expansion
of NATO, Putin added.
Although he also offered to
enter into dialogue with the United States over strategic security in the
world.
Russia and the US had suspended
or cancelled several disarmament treaties in the course of the Ukraine
conflict.
Putin said Russia would be
ready for new talks if the US stopped setting its sights on a strategic defeat
for Moscow in Ukraine.
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