Electing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton would start a nuclear world war between Russia and the U.S., according to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top political ally.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky implored Americans to vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in order to de-escalate the currently dangerous tensions between the U.S. and Russia.
“Relations between Russia and the United States can’t get any worse. The only way they can get worse is if a war starts,” Zhirinovsky told Reuters in an interview published Wednesday.
Zhirinovsky is a veteran politician well-known for making outlandish remarks to grab headlines. But despite his buffoonish character, he is one of the most important political allies of Putin in Russia’s Duma, the lower house of parliament.
“Americans voting for a president on Nov. 8 must realize that they are voting for peace on Planet Earth if they vote for Trump. But if they vote for Hillary it’s war. It will be a short movie. There will be Hiroshimas and Nagasakis everywhere,” said Zhirinovsky.
Russia is keenly interested in the current U.S. election, so much so that the U.S. intelligence committee alleges that Russia is behind the recent hacks of “U.S. political organizations,” many of which appear to target Clinton and her allies. Additionally, intelligence officials believe Russia may be behind cyber intrusions in various state election systems.
Relations between Washington and Moscow are currently at their worst since the end of the Cold War. While disagreements between the two countries have been ongoing for several years, they have increased since the failure of a negotiated ceasefire in Syria in September. Secretary of State John Kerry subsequently cut off bilateral talks with Russia regarding Syria shortly after Russia and Syria restarted their bombing of civilian targets.
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