Kremlin commander General Nikolai Makarov warns NUKE Europe !!

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...Russias-borders-Europe.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Nuclear war could erupt along Russia's borders with Europe, warns Kremlin commander

By Will Stewart

Last updated at 6:17 PM on 17th November 2011

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A chilling warning of nuclear war erupting along Russia's borders - including in Europe - came today from the Kremlin's top military commander.

General Nikolai Makarov said there could be a string of small-scale conflicts breaking out in the country.

He said: 'The possibility of local armed conflicts along nearly the whole border has increased dramatically.
Chilling warning: General Nikolai Makarov has said that there is a threat nuclear war could break out along Russia's borders

Chilling warning: General Nikolai Makarov has said that there is a threat nuclear war could break out along Russia's borders

'In certain conditions, I do not rule out local and regional armed conflicts developing into a large-scale war, including using nuclear weapons.'

Makarov's explosive words - sounding like an icy blast from the depths of the Cold War - will cause dismay and alarm in eastern Europe.

He linked the risk to former Warsaw Pact countries that have already joined NATO - and those which have expressed a willingness to join.

He complained: 'Practically all the countries of the former Warsaw Pact have become NATO members. The Baltic states that were part of the former Soviet Union have also joined the North Atlantic Alliance.'

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Yet this year marks two decades of peace between Russia and its former Warsaw pact allies in eastern Europe since the collapse of the USSR, and it was not immediately clear why the Kremlin's top military figure had chosen such lurid language to characterise Moscow's relations with its neighbours.

The three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - which he picked out in a major speech - are minnows and do not appear to present any risk whatsoever to Moscow.

Yet Russia is at odds with the U.S. over the American missile defence shield in Europe.'The European missile shield problem is quite serious today,' Makarov warned.
'In certain conditions, I do not rule out local and regional armed conflicts developing into a large-scale war, including using nuclear weapons.'

General Nikolai Makarov

Russia still has deeply strained relations with Georgia - homeland of former Kremlin leader Josef Stalin - after a 2008 war over two disputed provinces, and the country is seeking NATO membership. Yet the country has no nuclear weapons and on its own poses slender military threat to Russia, even if this is where a conflict could most easily turn to war.

Another neighbour, Ukraine, at one pointed sought to angle its future towards the West, but it is now ruled by a pro-Moscow president, and its liberal opposition leader languishes in jail.

Russia shares significant borders with North Korea, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan, but enjoys friendly relations with all three.

General Makarov, 62, was a former platoon commander for the Red Army in East Germany and has served in many posts in strategically sensitive areas for Moscow.

In Soviet times, he served with Soviet forces in Siberia, and after the fall of the Red flag was chief of staff of a Russian forces in Tajikistan.

A military high-flyer whose career was boosted by strongman leader Vladimir Putin, he was land and seashore commander of the Baltic Fleet, and subsequently first deputy commander, Moscow Military District.

He has been Russian chief of defence staff since 2008, and also serves as a deputy defence minister.

His strong words yesterday come ahead of political changes in Russia which are likely to see Putin return to the Kremlin as president, and the current head of state Dmitry Medvedev take the number two role as prime minister.

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http://www.newsroomamerica.com/stor...flict_risk_at_borders_could_turn_nuclear.html

Top Russian General Warns Increasing Conflict Risk at Borders Could Turn Nuclear

By Newsroom America Staff at 2:08 pm Eastern

(Newsroom America) -- Russia's top military officer warned Thursday that conflicts Moscow could be pulled into along the nation's borders could turn into a nuclear exchange.

Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian military, issued his warning over NATO's increasing eastward expansion, noting that risks of Moscow being pulled into local conflicts has "risen sharply," The Associated Press reported.

The paper, quoting Russian news sources, said Makarov added that, "under certain conditions local and regional conflicts may develop into a full-scale war involving nuclear weapons."

Analysts have noted that Russia has suffered a steady decline in conventional military forces over the past decade and, as such, has come to rely more heavily on its nuclear arsenal as a deterrent.

Russia has often criticized NATO's eastward expansion, which has begun to include former Soviet client states and others that fell under the Soviet Union's control during the Cold War. Moscow sees the expansion as a threat and an intrusion into its traditional zone of influence.

Makarov warning was tied to NATO's offer of membership to Georgia and the Ukraine, the AP said.

Russia fought a brief but violent war in August 2008 over a separatist province of South Ossetia. Since then Russia has recognized South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia, as independent and has increased its military strength there.

© 2011 Newsroom America.

 

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...-nuclear-war/2011/11/17/gIQAWQTJUN_story.html

Russia’s military chief warns that heightened risks of conflict near borders may turn nuclear

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By Associated Press,

MOSCOW — Russia is facing a heightened risk of being drawn into conflicts at its borders that have the potential of turning nuclear, the nation’s top military officer said Thursday.

Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, cautioned over NATO’s expansion eastward and warned that the risks for Russia to be pulled into local conflicts have “risen sharply.”

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(Mikhail Metzel/AP) - Gen. Nikolai Makarov, Russia’s top military officer, said his country is facing a heightened risk of being drawn into conflicts at its borders that have the potential of turning nuclear.

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Makarov added, according to Russian news agencies, that “under certain conditions local and regional conflicts may develop into a full-scale war involving nuclear weapons.”

A steady decline in Russia’s conventional forces has prompted the Kremlin to rely increasingly on its nuclear deterrent.

The nation’s military doctrine says it may use nuclear weapons to counter a nuclear attack on Russia or an ally, or a large-scale conventional attack that threatens Russia’s existence.

Russia sees NATO’s expansion to include former Soviet republics and ex-members of the Soviet bloc in eastern and central Europe as a key threat to Russia’s security.

Makarov specifically referred to NATO’s plans to offer membership to Georgia and Ukraine as potentially threatening Russia’s security. Russia routed Georgian forces in a brief August 2008 war over a separatist province of South Ossetia. Moscow later recognized South Ossettia and another breakaway Georgian province of Abkhazia as independent states and increased its military presence there.

Russia also considers missile defense plans as another security challenge.

Russia has strongly opposed the U.S.-led missile defense plan, saying it could threaten its nuclear forces and undermine their deterrence potential. Moscow has agreed to consider NATO’s proposal last fall to cooperate on the missile shield, but the talks have been deadlocked over how the system should operate. Russia has insisted that the system should be run jointly, which NATO has rejected.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.