Russian military chief warns of nuclear war risks

Russia is facing a heightened risk of being drawn into conflicts at its borders that have the potential of turning nuclear, the nations top military officer said Thursday.Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, cautioned over NATOs expansion eastward and warned that the risks of Russia being pulled into local conflicts have risen sharply.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 Russias conventional forces has prompted the Kremlin to rely increasingly on its nuclear deterrent.The nations 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 Russias existence.Russia sees NATOs expansion to include former Soviet republics and ex-members of the Soviet bloc in eastern and central Europe as a key threat to Russias security.Makarov specifically referred to NATOs plans to offer membership to Georgia and Ukraine as potentially threatening Russias 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.Makarov warned that the planned pullout of NATO forces from Afghanistan could trigger conflicts in neighbouring ex-Soviet Central Asian nations that could grow into a large-scale war.In its military doctrine, Russia has also described US missile defense plans as another major security challenge, saying it could threaten its nuclear forces and undermine their deterrence potential.