UNITED NATIONS, March 22. /TASS/. The West’s irresponsible rhetoric threatens to escalate the Ukraine conflict to an unpredictable phase, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya warned.

"You are starting to get cold feet, tossing and turning as your attempts to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia or at least weaken it have failed to produce the desired result. Do you realize that by using irresponsible rhetoric, you are raising the stakes and creating the risk that the conflict will enter a new acute and unpredictable phase?" he pointed out at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

"Are you ready to fight with Russia in your countries and does the wider public in Europe understand the consequences of what you’re doing? Perhaps, the time has come to think about the consequences that your irresponsible actions and statements could have for Europe’s regional security?" Nebenzya said, addressing Western representatives to the UN Security Council. He added that European security had already been significantly damaged, particularly by "the spread of the weapons that are being provided to Ukraine."