Russia warns of direct NATO confrontation amid “hostile” European actions

Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has warned of an ongoing risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO, citing what he described as “inadequate and hostile actions” by European countries, TASS reports.

Ryabkov stated that Europe has shown no readiness for dialogue or compromise with Moscow, which, in his view, has brought Russia and NATO “to the edge of the abyss,” beyond which uncontrolled escalation and a direct armed conflict with catastrophic consequences could occur. He singled out the United Kingdom and France for particularly aggressive behaviour.

The diplomat also warned that Russia could respond in kind to any U.S. nuclear weapons testing. “If the United States returns to full-scale explosive tests, we reserve the right to respond symmetrically,” Ryabkov said at the Valdai International Discussion Club.

Additionally, Ryabkov noted that the United States has yet to provide a substantive response to Russia’s proposal to maintain quantitative limits after the expiration of the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START), which is set to expire in February 2026.

By Khagan Isayev