New Delhi, Mar 2 (IANS): Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that a Third World War 'will be nuclear and destructive' as the fallout of his nation's invasion of neighbour Ukraine intensifies, Daily Mail reported.

In a thinly veiled threat for NATO not to get involved in Ukraine, Lavrov said that any future world war would be fought with nuclear weapons- a statement that comes just days after President Vladimir Putin warned that any country sending troops to Ukraine would be met with severe consequences, the report said.

The Foreign Minister went on to claim that Moscow was ready to enter a second round of negotiations aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, and accused Kiev of deliberately delaying the process at the request of the United States.

"We are ready for the second round of negotiations, but the Ukrainian side is delaying (the process) at the behest of the Americans," said Lavrov.

A Russian source close to the negotiations said that the second round of talks was supposed to take place later on Wednesday close to the Belarusian-Polish border after an initial attempt at diplomacy concluded on Monday.

Lavrov this morning also sought to justify the invasion of Ukraine by saying Russia's forces "will not allow Ukraine to obtain nuclear weapons".