Stoltenberg: NATO is in talks to put nuclear weapons on alert
NATO is discussing putting nuclear weapons on alert and deploying more of them in the face of the growing threat from Russia and China.
According to Censor.NET, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this in an interview with The Telegraph.
He noted that the Alliance must show its nuclear arsenal to the world to send a direct message to its enemies. He added that consultations are underway among Allies to bring missiles out of storage and put them on alert as a means of deterrence.
"I won't go into operational details about how many nuclear warheads should be in the operational inventory and how many should be in storage, but we have to consult on these issues. That is exactly what we are doing," Stoltenberg said.
The NATO Secretary General praised allies for their contributions to deterrence, including the Netherlands for its recent investment in dual-role fighter jets that can carry US nuclear weapons.
"Transparency helps to send a clear message that we are, of course, a nuclear alliance. NATO's goal, of course, is a world without nuclear weapons, but as long as nuclear weapons exist, we will remain a nuclear alliance, because a world in which Russia, China and North Korea have nuclear weapons and NATO does not is more dangerous," he said in the interview.
He warned that China, in particular, is investing heavily in modern weapons, including its nuclear arsenal, which he said will grow to 1,000 warheads by 2030.
"And that means that in the not too distant future, NATO could be faced with something it has never faced before, namely two potential nuclear adversaries - China and Russia. Of course, this will have consequences," the Secretary General said.
To recap, according to Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, Russia may have about 100 nuclear warheads in the Kaliningrad region.
