Dmitry Kiselyov said there has been a
'radical change' in relations between Russia and the US
Russian television journalist Dmitry Kiselyov
posing for a photo after receiving a medal of Friendship during an awarding
ceremony in the Kremlin in Moscow AFP
A Russian news presenter, dubbed the “Kremlin’s chief propagandist”, has warned the United States any “impudent behaviour” towards Moscow could have “nuclear” implications.
Dmitry Kiselyov, who was appointed by
Vladimir Putin to head the country’s government-owned news agency, made the
warning on Monday night’s edition of his flagship current affairs programme
Vesti Nedeli (News of the Week).
Relations between the two countries hit a new
low on Friday after Washington accused Moscow of war crimes following a
sustained bombardment of the besieged Syrian city Aleppo, where at least
250,000 people are still living in the rebel-held east of the city.
John Kerry says Russia and Syria should be
probed for war crimes
On Saturday, Russia vetoed a motion put to the UN Security Council demanding an immediate end to the bombing campaign in
Aleppo. A rival motion proposed by Russia was also rejected at the meeting
calling for a fresh ceasefire but did not explicitly mention the bombing.
Mr Kiselyov said there had been a “radical
change” in the relationship between Russia and the US in recent weeks, the BBC reports.
“The loud talk in Washington of a ‘Plan B’
for Syria. Everyone understands what this means: direct military force in
Syria,” he said.
During Monday’s programme a Russian defence
ministry spokesman also warned US bombers not to target the Syrian army. “We’ll
shoot them down,” commented Mr Kiselyov.
Mr Kiselyov is a key part of Russia’s media
operations and has been described as a “militant anti-Westerner” by Russian media and the county’s “chief propagandist”. He is also subject to Western
sanctions.
In the past he has boasted that Russia was
the only single country “genuinely capable of turning the USA into radioactive ash” and claimed last year: "In Syria, America stands on the side of the
terrorist caliphate”.
His most recent comments come as Russia
bolsters its military presence in the Mediterranean and Baltic regions.
Russia recently deployed the S-300 anti-aircraft missiles system to Syria and sent three war ships armed with
Malakhit cruise missiles from the Black Sea Fleet to the Mediterranean.
On Saturday, Moscow confirmed it has started
moving nuclear-capable Iskander-M missiles into the Kaliningrad, an act Poland
said it considers a matter of the “highest concern”.
The German foreign minister claimed that
mounting tensions between the US and Russia have led to a global political
situation which is “more dangerous” than the Cold War.
Writing for German newspaper Bild,
Frank-Walter Steinmeir wrote: “It's a fallacy to think that this is like the
Cold War. The current times are different and more dangerous”.
Western powers and Russia clash at UN over
Syria
Former cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell
compared Russia’s actions in the Syrian conflict to that of the Nazis before
World War II, saying Russia has “shredded” international law by providing
military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s bombing campaign of
rebel neighbourhoods.
Both Moscow and Damascus deny that strikes
deliberately target civilians, and blame the US-backed and al-Qaeda allied
fighting factions in Aleppo for the continued violence.
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