The risk of a head-on military clash between nuclear powers is alarmingly high, given the rising tensions and conflicts across the globe, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin stated on Feb. 26 at a high-level disarmament conference in Geneva. “We are approaching the 80th anniversary of the UN amid a severe crisis in the field of international security. The situation is deteriorating at a dramatic rate, and the risk of direct military confrontation of nuclear powers is high. There is widespread growth of tensions and conflicts.”
Vershinin attributed the current state of affairs to the relentless struggle over the global order: “The reason for the current situation lies in unremitting rivalry around a model of the world order: hegemonic ambitions of some clash with the aspirations of others for a more equitable, polycentric basis of international relations. On the part of those who aim at global dominance, there are flagrant violations of the principle of equal and indivisible security, refusal to recognize and take into account the fundamental interests of other states, undermining of former agreements, and attempts to gain undisputed military superiority. This provokes other states to undertake compensatory measures,” he said in part of his lengthy statement.
