Sergei Shoigu, the russian Minister of Defense, at the 10th Xiangshan Security Forum held in Beijing, expressed concerns that the West may provoke a "direct military clash between nuclear powers" by supporting Ukraine in its confrontation with russia. This was reported by the russian opposition Telegram channel, The Moscow Times.
"The West's approach of steady escalation of the conflict with Russia poses a threat of a direct military confrontation between nuclear powers, which carries catastrophic consequences", - stated Shoigu.
According to him, the U.S. and NATO allegedly believe that they can undermine russia's security and "deprive us of the will to resist".
Shoigu believes that the West is aiming for inflicting a "strategic defeat" on russia in an "unleashed hybrid war against us", and Ukraine has been cynically chosen as a battering ram, relegated to the role of mere expendable material.
Nevertheless, despite this stance, russia is ready for political discussions on the "post-conflict resolution of the Ukrainian crisis" and "parameters for further coexistence with the West in general", as stated by Shoigu.