Dec 10, 2021: Russia said on Thursday that rising tensions in Ukraine could lead to a recurrence of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world is on the brink of nuclear war.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the remarks after a reporter asked if the current situation could turn into a standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1962 Cold War.
The Cuban crisis was triggered by the stationing of Soviet nuclear missiles on the Caribbean island and prompted the United States to impose a naval blockade to prevent Moscow shipping in more.
In Ukraine, is trying to join NATO, Moscow fears that the alliance will install missiles there and target them against Russia. NATO says it is a defense alliance and that such concerns are unfounded.
Ukraine says it fears an attack by tens of thousands of Russian troops gathered near its borders, while Moscow says its move is purely defensive. Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden discussed the crisis in a two-hour video call on Tuesday, and Biden said he plans to hold a meeting between Russia and NATO members to discuss Moscow’s concerns.
Cuba’s missile crisis was averted when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to dismantle and remove nuclear weapons in exchange for US President John F. Kennedy’s pledge not to invade the communist island again. Washington had also secretly agreed to withdraw its nuclear missiles from Turkey, part of an agreement that did not materialize for decades.
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