Nuclear war with Russia is LESS likely under Donald Trump ‘because Hillary Clinton was more likely to use Nato to threaten Russia’
A NUCLEAR war is LESS likely under Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton because the Democrat would use Nato to threaten Russia in eastern Europe, a former intelligence chief says.
In recent months Trump has shown an unwillingness to become embroiled in the Ukraine conflict and even suggested sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of the annexation of the Crimea and Donbass regions could be lifted.
Mathew Burrows, a former CIA analyst and National Intelligence Council boss, said this shows Trump views Vladimir Putin's aggression in the region as less of a "matter of principle" than his Democratic former opponent.
Dr Burrows told The Sun Online that nuclear war could be triggered by Nato attempts to incorporate Ukraine, noting Putin's Russian military doctrine called for the use of "tactical" nuclear weapons if it was threatened.
He explained: "This is (Putin's) big legacy - that he got Crimea back from Ukraine and got it away from Nato. If Russia were to have to back down on this and see Ukraine become part of Nato then I think he is willing to use force to make sure this doesn't happen.
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"There's worry in a lot of Western circles that Russia, in it's military doctrine, is talking of the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The worry is the legitimate use of tactical nuclear weapons if the Russian state is threatened.
"It could be over Ukraine. That it might believe that its own state is being threatened, and in it's mind, the use of tactical nuclear weapons would be legitimate.
"Nato saying: 'OK, we know the Donbass is a contested area, we don't care about that, we're going to take it in because Russia can't bully our neighbours.'
"I don't think it's going to happen under Trump. Under a US president like Clinton, then maybe we would get to the point where she would press for Nato and that (would) put Russia on edge. "
His comments come as speculation continues to swirl surrounding how Trump will deal with Putin after an intelligence report found his election campaign benefited from Russian hacking.
During his campaign, critics claimed the world would be a more dangerous place considering such a "thin-skinned" President had the authority to spark nuclear war.
In December, Trump said: "It's not like, gee whiz, nobody has them. So, North Korea has nukes. Japan has a problem with that. I mean, they have a big problem with that.
"Maybe they would in fact be better off if they defend themselves from North Korea." When asked to clarify if he meant nuclear weapons, Trump responded: "Including with nukes, yes, including with nukes."
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