Beijing:

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the West wants to expand the conflict in Ukraine to the Asia-Pacific region, Russian state media reported on Monday, citing comments he made at a Beijing defense forum.

Speaking at the Jiangshan Forum, China’s largest military diplomacy event, Shoigu said NATO was covering up the buildup of forces in the Asia-Pacific region with a “sham desire to negotiate,” Russia’s TASS news agency reported. .

Shoigu said NATO countries are promoting an arms race in the region, increasing their military presence and increasing the frequency and scale of military exercises there.

Shoigu said US forces would use information exchange with Tokyo and Seoul on missile launches to deter Russia and China. He also accused Washington of trying to use climate change and natural disasters as an excuse for “humanitarian intervention”.

Shoigu said the emergence of new security blocs such as the Quad and AUKUS has weakened the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and non-proliferation efforts in the region.

At the same time, he said, Russia’s move to revoke ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty does not mean the end of the agreement, and Russia is not lowering its threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

“We only want to restore parity with the United States, which has not ratified this treaty,” Russia’s RIA news agency quoted Shoigu as saying. “We are not talking about its destruction.”

Shoigu said Moscow is ready to negotiate a post-conflict resolution of the Ukraine crisis on further ‘coexistence’ with the West, but the West needs to stop seeking Russia’s strategic defeat.

Making clear that the conditions for such talks have not yet been created, Shoigu said: “It is also important to ensure equal relations between all nuclear powers and permanent UN Security Council members who are committed to maintaining peace and global stability.” We bear special responsibility for this.”