The Russian government has blamed the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Liz Truss, for the high alert on which Russia’s President Vladimir Putin placed its nuclear forces, the British Broadcasting Corporation reports.
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the “unacceptable” remarks made about possible “clashes” between Nato and Russia over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were responsible for the alert.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, Peskov said: “Statements were made by various representatives at various levels on possible altercations or even collisions and clashes between Nato and Russia.
“We believe that such statements are absolutely unacceptable. I would not call the authors of these statements by name, although it was the British foreign minister,” according to the BBC.
Truss had, on Sunday, warned that there could be “conflict” between Russia and Nato if the Russian president was not stopped in Ukraine.
“This long-running conflict is about freedom and democracy in Europe.
“If we don’t stop Putin in Ukraine, we are going to see others under threat: the Baltics, Poland, Moldova, and it could end up in a conflict with Nato. We do not want to go there,” she said.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office source said, “I don’t think anything Liz has said warrants that sort of rhetoric or escalation.”
Earlier, Putin said that he had placed Moscow’s nuclear forces on “special alert” owing to “aggressive statements” by the West.
Reacting in a tweet, the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, described Russia blaming Truss for its nuclear alert as a “transparent Russian attempt to divert.”
She added that, “The only person responsible for Putin’s despicable nuclear threat is Putin.”
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