Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned his American counterparts on Monday that some form of military response to the United States stationing advanced weapons in Europe could be possible in the very near future. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) has not ruled out using a military response either.

A conflict continues to look more and more likely by the day, according to a report by RT. Ryabkov insisted that if NATO proceeds toward the deployment of new capabilities in weaponry, “which are being developed very rapidly in the US,” the Russian military may reply in a way that “will inevitably and unavoidably damage the security of the US and its European allies.”

Speaking to the media after a day of crucial US-Russian negotiations on security guarantees in Geneva, Ryabkov also said that there has been no progress so far on Russia’s proposals to curb NATO expansion. He said that the ball is now in NATO’s court, which, in his words, has to finally make a “real step” toward finding common ground with  Russia. –RT

“We are calling on the US to demonstrate a maximum of responsibility at this moment. Risks related to a possible increase of confrontation shouldn’t be underestimated,” Ryabkov said, adding that “significant” effort has been made to persuade the Americans that “playing with fire” is not in their interests.

The United States responded with warnings of their own, according to reports by Axios. Top U.S. and Russian officials stuck to their red lines during nearly eight hours of security talks in Geneva on Monday, with the U.S. ruling out limits to NATO expansion and Russia warning that it would respond to a diplomatic failure with a “military-technical solution.”

As tensions mount, make sure you are ready for anything.  Perhaps this is nothing more than rhetoric. Perhaps it’s a precursor to a conflict. Either way, it is important to be prepared for a negative outcome. Political parasites will do whatever they want, and it’s up to us whether we choose to continue to fight their wars.