UNITED NATIONS, October 4. /TASS/. The accumulated conflict potential in the world has already caused a sharp crisis in the Euro-Atlantic region and may escalate into a direct confrontation with involvement of nuclear powers in the Asia Pacific, Konstantin Vorontsov, Deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s non-proliferation and arms control department, said, speaking at the meeting of the UN General Assembly’s First Committee (on disarmament).
"Since the last year’s session of the First Committee, causes for optimism in international security have not increased. The accumulated crisis potential, which was not curbed on time, has already caused a sharp crisis in the Euro-Atlantic and may escalate into a direct confrontation in the Asia Pacific. The direct involvement of powers with nuclear arsenals in the standoff multiplies strategic risks multifold," he said.
"The root of the deepening disagreements lies, first and foremost, in the aggressive implementation of own selfish interests by Western states, led by the US, to the detriment of interests of other states," Vorontsov added.