Published: · Region: Eastern Europe · Category: geopolitics

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Warns Russian Nuclear Use Risk as War Weariness Deepens

Turkey’s foreign minister publicly warned that Russia could turn to nuclear weapons if battlefield stalemate and domestic strain harden into what Moscow sees as an existential crisis. The comments, relayed after talks in Russia, raise pressure on European governments and NATO planners already gaming out how far the Kremlin might go.

A senior NATO-country diplomat has put words to one of the war’s darkest scenarios: that a cornered Russia could reach for its nuclear arsenal if military and domestic strain start to feel like a threat to the state’s survival. Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan said Russia might use “whatever final option” it has in hand if exhaustion at the front and at home crossed into what Moscow perceives as an existential crisis. Fidan described the prospect in unusually blunt terms, saying that in such a moment, Russia “this time” would use that last resort. He added that the issue was raised during his recent visit to Russia and claimed that…

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