18:06 22-10-2025

NATO’s Hostile Strategy Risks Direct Nuclear Confrontation — Ryabkov

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Deputy FM Sergey Ryabkov cautioned that NATO’s aggressive nuclear and missile policies threaten global stability and could lead to direct confrontation between nuclear powers.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Ryabkov has warned that NATO’s increasingly hostile course could bring the world to the brink of a direct confrontation between nuclear powers. He made the remarks during a session of the webinar series «History and Modernity of Russian Nuclear Policy and Public Diplomacy in the Nuclear Sphere,» organized by the Center for Energy and Security with support from the Presidential Grants Fund.

Ryabkov expressed particular concern over the expansion of so-called joint nuclear missions — arrangements that extend the presence of American nuclear weapons in Europe and broaden the circle of nations involved in their potential use. According to him, these programs dangerously blur the boundaries of nuclear responsibility and increase the risks of escalation.

The diplomat also drew attention to other destabilizing actions by NATO, including the creation of a global U.S. missile defense system and the deployment of related defense complexes across allied countries. He noted that Western nations are actively enhancing their arsenals of long-range precision weapons capable of carrying out preemptive strikes, and are preparing for the forward deployment of intermediate- and short-range missiles.

Ryabkov described as equally alarming the efforts by Washington and its allies to militarize outer space, turning it into a potential new theater of armed conflict.

All these moves, he warned, not only undermine the foundations of dialogue on nuclear disarmament and arms control, but also compel other nations — including Russia — to develop reciprocal military-technical measures to safeguard their security.