NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured Monday that the military organization does not perceive a change in Russia’s nuclear position despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcements that Moscow will deploy tactical weapons in Belarus.
»We follow very closely what Russia is doing. But so far, we have not seen any change in their nuclear posture that would require any change in our nuclear posture,» he said at a press conference from Brussels ahead of the meeting of allied foreign ministers.
Stoltenberg said Putin’s announcement follows a »trend» of »aggressive nuclear rhetoric» aimed at »intimidating» allies in their military support for Ukraine in the face of Russian encroachment.
In the face of this, the NATO policymaker has assured that the members of the Atlantic alliance will not allow themselves to be coerced. Putin is trying to use nuclear weapons as a way to prevent us from supporting Ukraine. We will not be intimidated,» he said.
In any case, the former Norwegian prime minister emphasized that NATO is a nuclear-capable organization and its ultimate purpose is to deter and defend all its members, so it will closely monitor Russian activity with regard to the possible positioning of nuclear weapons in the neighboring country.
The Russian president announced last week an agreement with Belarus for the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear bombs on Belarusian territory, in response to the British announcement that it will deliver depleted uranium ammunition to the Ukrainian Army.
Minsk justified the need to strengthen its defensive capabilities on the grounds of »legitimate security concerns» and dismissed international reactions to the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons as »exaggerated».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
