Risks of nuclear war should be minimised - Russia

The Russian foreign ministry's head of nuclear non-proliferation has said nuclear war should never be unleashed

Vladimir Yermakov has told the Russian Tass news agency that the risks of nuclear war "must be minimised, in particular, by preventing any armed conflict between nuclear powers".

He cited an agreement pledging to seek to avoid nuclear war, reached in January by the US, Russia, China, France and the UK, Qazet.az reports.

But he said the Western nuclear "troika" were slipping into other positions, as was Nato in "positioning itself as a nuclear alliance".

"Such 'balancing on the brink' is fraught with the most serious consequences," he said.

Yermakov also said dialogue on strategic stability with the US was currently "frozen on the American side".