Russian military chief warns of nuclear war risks

Russian military chief warns of nuclear war risks
Thursday, November 17, 2011 12:32 PM EST

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia is facing a heightened risk of being drawn into conflicts at its borders that have the potential of turning nuclear, the nation's top military officer said Thursday.

Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, cautioned over NATO's expansion eastward and warned that the risks of Russia being pulled into local conflicts have "risen sharply."

Makarov added, according to Russian news agencies, that "under certain conditions local and regional conflicts may develop into a full-scale war involving nuclear weapons."

A steady decline in Russia's conventional forces has prompted the Kremlin to rely increasingly on its nuclear deterrent.

The nation's military doctrine says it may use nuclear weapons to counter a nuclear attack on Russia or an ally, or a large-scale conventional attack that threatens Russia's existence.

http://mycenturylink.com/news/read.php?rip_id=<D9R2I9200@news.ap.org>&ps=1012

Russian Official Warns Of Heightened Risk Of Nuclear War

The Russian Federation's chief of the general staff of the armed forces, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, warned NATO to slow its Eastward expansion or risk nuclear war.

Makarov warned that Russia is increasingly being pulled into conflicts on its borders and told Russian news agencies that "under certain conditions local and regional conflicts may develop into a full-scale war involving nuclear weapons."

Russia has long opposed NATO's expansion into the former Soviet satellite states and has drawn a red-line at the Atlantic Alliance's expansion into the republics that used to make up the Soviet Union (with the notable exception of the Baltic States Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which only became Soviet Republics in 1941). NATO has suggested that there is a path to membership for former Soviet Republics like Ukraine and Georgia - something that Russia claims it will oppose with military force if necessary.

http://www.ology.com/politics/russian-official-warns-heightened-risk-nuclear-war