This was the response of the Russian Foreign Minister when asked if a nuclear war could be triggered

The Foreign Minister of RussiaSergei Lavrov said on Thursday that he did not believe that the conflict in Ukraine escalate into a nuclear war, but he warned the United States and Europe that Moscow would never again depend on the West.

The economy of Russia faces the most serious crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 after the West imposed heavy sanctions on almost the entire Russian financial and corporate system following the invasion of Ukraine by Moscow on February 24.

When a correspondent in the Kremlin of the Russian newspaper Kommersant he asked if he thought a nuclear war could break out, Lavrov told reporters in Turkey: “I don’t want to believe it and I don’t believe it.”

Lavrovforeign minister to the president Vladimir Putin Since 2004, he said that the nuclear issue had been thrown into the discussions only by the West, which, in his opinion, kept returning to nuclear war like Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis.

“Of course we are concerned when the West, like Freud, keeps coming back and coming back to this topic”said Lavrov after talks in Antalya, Turkey, with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

Lavrov said that talk of a possible Russian attack on the former Soviet Baltic states –Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia– now all members of the European Union and NATO – “seem to be old hoaxes”.

Russia and the United States they have the largest stockpiles of nuclear warheads after the Cold War, which divided the world for much of the 20th century, pitting the West against the Soviet Union and its allies.

February 27, Putin ordered that the nuclear forces of Russia put themselves on high alert, citing Western sanctions and aggressive comments from leading members of the US military alliance. NATO. Russian officials later cited British comments about a possible confrontation between NATO and Russia.

Putin says ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine essential to ensure Russian security after the United States expanded the membership of the NATO to the borders of Russia and supported pro-Western leaders in Kiev.

Ukraine says it is fighting for its existence and the United States and its European and Asian allies have condemned the Russian invasion. China has called for calm.

Now that the West has imposed crippling sanctions on Russia, Lavrov he said that Moscow was turning away from the West and would face the economic consequences.

“We will come out of this crisis with a revitalized psychology and conscience: we will have no illusions that the West can be a reliable partner”said Lavrov. “We will do everything possible to ensure that we will never again depend on the West in those areas of our lives that have significant meaning for our people.”

In Moscow, Sergei Chemezov, a close ally of Putinalso defended Russian actions in Ukraine and said that Russia could withstand the crippling sanctions imposed by the West and ultimately emerge victorious.

“If you take a look at the history of Russiaalmost all that history Russia has fought with different sanctions, with enemies that surrounded her, and she always emerged victorious “Rostec CEO Chemezov told staff.

“Now it will be the same”, said Chemezov, who worked as a KGB spy with Putin in the former East Germany before the Soviet breakup.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, many people in Russia and the West hoped that the divisions of the Cold War were over.

When asked about the energy sanctions imposed by the United States, Lavrov said that Russia would not try to convince any buyer to buy his energy.

In a clear reference to China, the world’s second largest economy, Lavrov he said that Russia had markets for its oil and gas.

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