Russia has accused Europe of stoking the flames of World War 3 with its “inadequate and hostile actions”. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov claimed Moscow could soon sign a legal agreement promising not to attack the European Union or NATO, state media reported.

He said: “In responding to the adventurous and provocative steps taken by NATO countries, we have, on the one hand, demonstrated considerable restraint, while, on the other, we have consistently sent important warning signals to our opponents about the strategic risks they pose, coupled with our unwavering commitment to firmly defending our national security interests.”

However, he then claimed European countries were carrying out non-specified “hostile actions” which maintained the risks present of confrontation between Russia and NATO.

He said: “Frankly, this doesn’t breed optimism as it clearly shows that even amid a more balanced Russia policy pursued by Washington, risks of a confrontation between Russia and NATO remain significant due to inadequate and hostile actions by European countries.”

Rybakov maintained that Russia would not attack the West, adding that it was “even ready to legally enshrine this with regard to a potential solution to the current crisis based on the principle of equal and indivisible security”.

This comes as the Royal Navy issued a warning that Russia could deploy deep-sea submersibles that are able to sabotage critical undersea infrastructure.

General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said Moscow renewed investment in its Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research (GUGI) – accused of mapping and potentially disrupting the seabed cables and pipelines vital to the UK’s economy and national security.

He told the Financial Times: “We’ve seen GUGI’s subsurface capabilities restarting. We know that they’ve had some issues with that programme.

“It appears that they have reset that programme. So we’re expecting them to deploy again. That gives Moscow the option for physical action, if they want it.”