Russia ready for long confrontation with US, says top diplomat

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia must prepare for a long confrontation with the United States and has repeatedly warned Washington about the crisis in its relations, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday.

The two-and-a-half-year war in Ukraine has sparked the most serious confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis – considered the closest between the two Cold War superpowers of intentional nuclear war.

The conflict is entering what Russian officials consider the most dangerous phase yet. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has for months urged kyiv’s allies to let Ukraine fire longer-range Western missiles deep into Russia to limit Moscow’s ability to launch attacks.

Ryabkov, who oversees arms control and relations with Washington, said Moscow had no illusions about relations, given the “bipartisan anti-Russian consensus” in the United States.

“We must prepare for a long-term confrontation with this country. We are ready for it in every sense of the word,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the official RIA news agency.

“We are sending all warning signals to our adversary so that he does not underestimate our determination,” Ryabkov said.

President Vladimir Putin warned the West last week that Russia could use nuclear weapons if hit by conventional missiles, and that Moscow would view any attack against it backed by a nuclear power as a joint attack.

(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Mark Trevelyan)