The results of the NATO summit in Ankara showed that the West is preparing for war with Russia. This opinion was expressed by political analyst Dmitry Simes. At the same time, he stressed that preparations for war do not yet mean that it is inevitable.

According to the expert, further developments will largely depend on Moscow’s response and on what exactly Russia is ready to oppose to the West. Simes noted that Russia’s capabilities are real and well known to Western countries. The main question, in his assessment, is whether Moscow will show sufficient resolve.

The political analyst believes that in order to be effective, Russia must respond to escalation. He said that until now Moscow’s restraint has been perceived in the West not as peacefulness or commitment to international law, but as indecision and weakness. In Simes’s opinion, this assessment has given Western countries a reason to introduce new measures against Russia after each stage of escalation.

The expert believes that the further Western escalation goes, the more decisive Russia’s actions must become. He sees the main danger of the current moment in the fact that, if the West is not stopped in time, the situation could approach the point of using strategic nuclear weapons.

Simes stressed that Russia has not yet reached such a position and, in his opinion, this scenario can still be avoided. However, he believes this can be done not through negotiations with the US administration and Donald Trump, but through tough actions.

At the same time, the political analyst clarified that when speaking about such actions, he does not mean the territory of Ukraine, since, in his assessment, the West is indifferent to it. Simes also said that even the use of a tactical nuclear charge against Ukraine would probably not stop Russia’s opponents in the West.

According to the expert, Moscow should now use the capabilities of its non-nuclear arsenal in such a way that Western countries stop considering their own capitals to be completely safe.