Berlin, May 10 (IANS) Russian Ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechayev said that Russia does not want to fight Germany or Nato, but “Nuclear Umbrella” discussions could change strategic situations on the continent, a media outlet reported on Sunday.
Ambassador Nechayev, while speaking at the panel discussion “Peace through Dialogue” in Berlin, added that there has been much talk about a so-called joint “nuclear shield”, and this could change the strategic situation on the continent.
He said, “We don’t want a war with Nato, let alone a war with Germany.”
At the same time, he noted that there has been frequent talk of a so-called joint “nuclear shield” lately.
“This is no joke,” the diplomat stressed, reported Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass.
Nechayev said that “if we’re talking about expanding the nuclear threat, then a completely different strategic situation arises in Europe.”
In that case, Russia would have to remind everyone of its nuclear doctrine, he emphasised.
The Ambassador warned that “If we have to face such military attempts, then we will not be able to guarantee anything”.
“Imagine an ordinary individual on the street. What is this person hearing, which signals is he receiving from Europe? That Russia is an enemy and an existential threat. That a war with Russia is inevitable. That a strategic defeat should be inflicted on Russia. That Ukraine should be ‘flooded’ with weapons — drones and long-range missile systems,” he said on Friday in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung newspaper, Tass reported.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the country’s soldiers are currently fighting an “aggressive force” backed by all of Nato in Ukraine.
Putin made the remarks during the annual Victory Day parade on Red Square in Moscow, marking the 81st anniversary of the victory in the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War.
“The great feat of the victorious generation inspires the soldiers carrying out special military operations today. They are confronting an aggressive force armed and supported by the entire Nato bloc. And yet, our heroes continue to move forward,” the Russian President said during his speech.
–IANS
ksk/khz