Europe will be the first to face “catastrophic consequences” if the war in Ukraine breaks out, Russian diplomacy said on Tuesday in a comment to the state-run RIA Novosti agency, cited by Reuters.

“In the event of an escalation of the conflict – and this is what reckless actions of Washington lead to – they (Europeans) will be the first to face possible catastrophic consequences,” – threatened the head of the Russian delegation at the negotiations in Vienna. issues of military security and arms control, Kostiantyn Gavrilov.

A Russian diplomat accused the U.S. of pushing for such an escalation as a summit of NATO leaders opened Tuesday in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, to discuss Russia’s threats to the alliance and allies’ support for Ukraine, the country it invaded. of the Moscow Army from February 24, 2022.

For his part, Moscow’s ambassador to Belgium Oleksandr Tokovinin told RIA Novosti that NATO’s policy towards Russia increases the risk of a direct conflict between members of the North Atlantic bloc and Moscow.

Tokovinin claims that the regional defense plans that NATO intends to adopt at the summit, which begins on Tuesday in Vilnius, will further intensify and continue the confrontation of the North Atlantic alliance with Russia.

Sweden’s accession to NATO is on the agenda of the summit in Vilnius

Sweden’s entry into the alliance will also be a major topic of the summit in Lithuania, with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announcing late Monday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to support the Scandinavian country’s membership.

“I am happy to announce that President Erdogan has agreed to deliver Sweden’s accession protocol” to the Turkish parliament “as soon as possible and work with the assembly to ensure ratification,” he said after meeting the Turkish leader and Sweden’s prime minister. Ulf Kristersson before the NATO summit in Vilnius.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley, in turn, confirmed on Twitter that Turkey has agreed to support Sweden’s accession to NATO.

The announcement of the lifting of Turkish objections came as a surprise as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier on Monday that the European Union must clear the way for Turkey to join the bloc before the Turkish parliament approves Sweden’s request to join the military alliance.

Hungary announced on Tuesday that it would ratify Sweden’s entry into NATO after Turkey raised its objections.

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