NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenbergargued that a permanent flow of Western weapons is vital to achieving peace in Ukraine, while calling for “making China pay” for its support of Russia.
“It may seem like a paradox, but the path to peace involves more weapons for Ukraine”Stoltenberg said this Monday during a visit to Washington.
Kremlin calls NATO chief’s comment an “escalation of tension”
The Kremlin called Monday “tension escalation” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg’s comment that the military alliance was holding talks about deploying more nuclear weapons.
Stoltenberg told Britain’s Telegraph newspaper that NATO members were holding consultations on deploying more nuclear weapons, removing them from storage and putting them on alert in the face of the growing threat from Russia and China.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov He said Stoltenberg’s comments appeared to contradict a statement issued at a conference held over the weekend in Switzerland. which stated that any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the context of Ukraine was inadmissible.
The talks, held at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, were billed as a “peace summit,” although Moscow was not invited.
“This is nothing more than another escalation of tension”, said Peskov about the statements of the NATO Secretary General. NATO later attempted to clarify Stoltenberg’s statements, stating that there were no significant changes in his nuclear posture.
“NATO is committed to ensuring a safe and effective nuclear deterrent,” said Alliance spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah. “To that end, we have an ongoing modernization program to replace legacy weapons and aircraft,” he said. “Beyond that, there are no significant changes to our nuclear deterrent.”
Russia, which sent troops to Ukraine in 2022, claims the United States and its European allies are bringing the world to the brink of a nuclear confrontation by giving Ukraine billions of dollars worth of weapons, some of which are being used against Russian territory.
President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Russia is technically prepared for nuclear war, and that Moscow could use nuclear weapons to defend itself in extreme circumstances. Russia and the United States are by far the largest nuclear powers in the world, with about 88% of the world’s nuclear weapons, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
Source: Ambito
