By IANS,
Moscow: A nuclear-armed Pakistan, Iran and North Korea could potentially trigger regional chain reaction that may threaten Russian security, a former Russian intelligence official has said.
“Even if Iran, Pakistan and North Korea are not Russian adversaries, their current and projected nuclear potential could destabilise the regional situation,” Vyacheslav Trubnikov, former director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, stated in an article.
“It could trigger a chain reaction of proliferation (Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan) that gives rise to a new missile threat for Russia,” the official said.
He said history shows that relations with unstable states and radical regimes can rapidly deteriorate and their nuclear potential could become a real threat to Russian national security.
That is why Russia needed to work toward mutual understanding with the US and NATO on the issue of missile defence, he added.