NATO condemns Putin’s ‘irresponsible’ nuclear rhetoric
NATO criticized Russia for its “dangerous and irresponsible” nuclear rhetoric after President Vladimir Putin said Russia would use tactical nuclear weapons on Belarus. This was reported by Reuters on Sunday, March 26.
“NATO is vigilant and we are closely monitoring the situation. We are not seeing any changes in Russia’s nuclear policy that require us to adjust ours,” the alliance spokesman said.
Putin’s explanation that Russia is deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus because NATO countries are also deploying them on their territories is “completely misleading”, the alliance added. “NATO allies are acting in full compliance with their international obligations. Russia has consistently violated its arms control obligations, most recently suspending its participation in the New START Treaty,” a NATO spokesman said.
Russia installs nuclear weapons in Belarus
The day before, Putin said that Russia would deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. According to him, we are talking about 10 aircraft capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons and the Iskander missile system. In addition, in July 2023, construction of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons will be completed in Belarus, Putin announced. According to him, Russia is doing “the same thing that the United States has been doing for decades” by deploying tactical nuclear weapons in NATO countries.
He added that Russia does not transfer weapons to Belarus, but only places them, which means that this step does not violate the agreement on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
western reaction
The US government said Washington will continue to monitor the situation. “We see no reason to adjust the deployment of our own nuclear forces, nor any signs that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons. We remain committed to collective defense within the NATO alliance,” the Pentagon press service said.
The German government has criticized the measure announced by Putin, calling it “another attempt at a nuclear scare”. “The comparison with NATO’s joint nuclear missions is misleading and cannot justify the measure announced by Russia,” said the spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry.
Source: DW
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