NATO's involvement in conflict with Russia "very dangerous": Slovak minister

BRATISLAVA, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- It would be "very dangerous" if NATO countries were to be drawn into the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Slovak Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok warned on Tuesday.

The potential use of American, British and French long-range missiles to attack Russian territory would provoke a strong reaction from Russia, the News Agency of the Slovak Republic quoted Estok as saying.

"If a NATO missile hits a Russian city, harsh retaliation from Russia will automatically follow," Estok said on social media. Ukraine would be the first to suffer the consequences, he underlined.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken recently about the possibility of a diplomatic end to the conflict, but the West responded by allowing the shelling of Russian territory with allied missiles, Estok said, adding this could be an obstacle to peace negotiations.

The interior minister also emphasized that the war in Ukraine has escalated ahead of the inauguration of Donald Trump as the new U.S. president.

On Sunday, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia's territory.

If these weapons were deployed, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday, "this would mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of U.S. involvement in this conflict." He reiterated that Moscow's stance on this issue should be clear to everyone.