Russia considers supply of F-16 fighters to Ukraine a nuclear threat: FM

MOSCOW, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Russia considers the deployment of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine as a nuclear threat, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

Lavrov made the comment in an interview with the Russian news agency Lenta.ru, during which he discussed the potential consequences of the decision of the United States and its allies to supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

"During the hostilities, our military will not check whether each specific aircraft of this type will be equipped for the delivery of nuclear weapons or not," Lavrov said.

He said the fact that such systems will appear in Ukraine is considered by Russia as a "Western threat in the nuclear sphere."

Lavrov noted that Washington and its NATO allies are creating the risk of a direct military clash with Russia, and such a confrontation would be "fraught with catastrophic consequences."