US, Allies on Brink of Military Confrontation with Russia - Zakharova

By Staff, Agencies

Russia said the United States and its allies are on the brink of an open military conflict with Moscow, as tensions continue to grow between the Kremlin and the West over Ukraine.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the remark in a statement on Tuesday, warning that any such confrontation would include nuclear tensions.

"After provoking an escalation of the Ukrainian crisis and unleashing a violent hybrid confrontation with Russia, Washington and its allies are dangerously teetering on the brink of an open military confrontation with our country, which means a direct armed conflict between nuclear powers. Clearly, such a confrontation would be fraught with nuclear escalation," Zakharova said.

Since the onset of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the United States and its European allies have unleashed a flood of advanced weapons into Ukraine and imposed waves of unprecedented sanctions on Moscow. Russia considers that the weapons and the sanctions only prolong the war.

Elsewhere in her remarks, Zakharova slammed Japan's attempts to paint Russia as a nuclear threat, denouncing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's remarks on the nuclear weapons issue as "perplexing."

"It is unacceptable to try to distort the logic of deterrence, which is what Russia's official statements on nuclear issues are based on, for propaganda reasons, as well as to depict us as a country threatening to use nuclear weapons," she stressed.

"We have taken note of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's recent anti-Russian remarks, including his controversial statements on the nuclear weapons issue. Their focus and tone are puzzling. In particular, in order to justify the move to choose Hiroshima as the host city of a G7 summit, a remark was made that there was no better alternative to the city in a situation where 'Russia's use of nuclear weapons and nuclear threats are becoming a reality,'" Zakharova added.