An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Tuesday that the world was probably on the verge of a new world war, cautioning that the risks of a nuclear confrontation were also rising, though neither scenario was inevitable.
Opponents should not underestimate Russia's determination, said Medvedev, who also served as the Russian president between 2008 and 2012, during an educational marathon in Moscow called "Knowledge," a platform for open discussions between young people and government representatives.
When asked about climate change, Medvedev responded, "Do you really care about the climate to such an extent? In my opinion, this is nothing compared to the prospect of being at the epicenter of an explosion with a temperature of 5,000 Kelvin (scale). Is there such a prospect today? (Unfortunately,) yes. And it is growing every day for well-known reasons," he said.
Medvedev added such a new world war was not inevitable but said the risks of a nuclear confrontation were growing - and more serious than concerns about climate change.
"The world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war," former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Putin's powerful security council, told a conference in Moscow.
Putin says the world faces the most dangerous decade since World War Two. He casts the war in Ukraine as an existential battle with an aggressive and arrogant West, and has said that Russia will use all available means to protect itself against any aggressor.
The United States and its allies have condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an imperial land grab. Ukraine has vowed to fight until all Russian troops withdraw from its territory, and says Russian rhetoric on nuclear war is intended to intimidate the West into curbing military aid.
