MOSCOW, March 2. /TASS/. The United States and NATO’s increasing involvement in the hostilities in Ukraine may lead to a direct military conflict between nuclear powers with disastrous consequences, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told a disarmament conference in Geneva on Thursday.

"The policy being pursued by the US and NATO toward escalating the conflict in and around Ukraine, which they deliberately exacerbated, poses the greatest strategic risk. Their increasing involvement in the military confrontation is liable to lead to a direct military conflict between nuclear powers with devastating consequences," the senior Russian diplomat warned.

Moscow has been warning the West about these risks, but "the warnings are being distorted for propaganda purposes," Ryabkov lamented. "And this at a time when Western capitals are outrageously threatening to use force against our country," he added.

According to Ryabkov, this "runs counter to the joint statement issued by nuclear powers on January 3, 2022 on the prevention of a nuclear war, to which Russia is unequivocally committed.