NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday emphasized for the first time in a long time the Western alliance’s efforts to adapt its capabilities to current security threats, noting aggressive rhetoric from Russian authorities and nuclear exercises conducted by Moscow.
About this informs Voice of America.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, which will include a meeting of the alliance’s nuclear planning group, he called nuclear weapons “NATO’s primary security guarantee” and means of peacekeeping.
Although it is well known that the US has deployed nuclear weapons in several European countries, NATO rarely discusses the issue publicly.
Speaking about what he called the “continuous adaptation” of NATO’s nuclear arsenal, Stoltenberg said that in June the Netherlands put into service the first F-35 fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons, noting that the US is modernizing its nuclear ones. weapons in Europe.
He noted the increase in Russia’s activity in the field of its nuclear capabilities.
“What we’ve seen in recent years and months is dangerous nuclear rhetoric from Russia… We’re also seeing more drills, nuclear drills from Russia.”, – he said.
Russia said on Tuesday that its forces had begun the second phase of exercises on the practical deployment of tactical nuclear weapons with Belarusian forces after what Moscow called threats from Western powers.
Since Russia sent many thousands of its soldiers to Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that Moscow could use nuclear weapons to defend the country in extreme situations.
Russia accuses the US and its European allies of pushing the world toward a nuclear confrontation by providing Ukraine with billions of dollars worth of weapons, some of which are used on Russian soil.
Stoltenberg also mentioned the modernization of China’s nuclear capabilities, saying that Beijing is expected to increase the number of nuclear missiles within several years, many of which will be able to reach NATO territory.
