NATO is developing the capacity for devastating nuclear strikes against Russia – which includes involving members of the alliance who don't have such weapons in training operations – Moscow’s top arms control official has claimed.
In an interview with TASS on Thursday, Vladimir Yermakov, Director of the Department of Arms Control and Nonproliferation in the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that the US was in the process of modernizing its atomic capabilities in Europe and had deployed missiles in the territories of several other member states.
“According to expert analysis, there are five non-nuclear NATO countries holding around 200 American B61 nuclear bombs,” Yermakov stated. “There is also the infrastructure to support the operational deployment of these weapons, which are capable of reaching Russian territory and striking a wide range of locations, including strategic ones.”
The director emphasized that while the missiles are controlled by Washington, the nuclear development is a collaborative effort. “There are ‘joint nuclear missions’ between NATO countries, in the course of which non-nuclear members of the alliance take part in training sessions to develop American nuclear capabilities against us,” he claimed.
Yermakov also said that the withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from Europe is one of Moscow’s primary goals in ongoing security negotiations.
“We are adamant that NATO’s ‘joint nuclear missions’ must immediately be halted, all American nuclear weapons must return to US territory, and the infrastructure that enables its swift deployment be liquidated,” he commented, saying that these proposals were included in the list of security demands that Moscow delivered to Washington in December.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed disappointment in the American response to the proposals, saying that the US had refused to make concessions concerning the expansion of NATO in eastern Europe. “The main issue is our clear position on the unacceptability of further NATO expansion to the east and the deployment of highly-destructive weapons that could threaten the territory of the Russian Federation,” the diplomat explained.
China cautions US over standoff with Russia
RT
Russia’s concerns about safety on the European continent cannot be pushed aside by the US and warrant genuine consideration, China has warned, amid a tense stand-off between Washington and Moscow.
In a telephone call on Thursday, Beijing's Foreign Minister Wang Yi offered US Secretary of State Antony Blinken advice on how to calm growing tensions in the region.
“Today, in the 21st century, all parties must completely abandon the Cold War mentality and form a balanced, effective and sustainable negotiated European security mechanism,” he told Blinken, according to the ministry’s official website.
Wang added that “Russia’s legitimate security concerns must be taken seriously and addressed.” According to him, regional security cannot be ensured by strengthening and expanding military blocs.
“The security of one country cannot be achieved at the expense of another,” he said. The foreign minister also reiterated China’s calls for all sides to refrain from actions that could further inflame tensions.
The remarks come shortly after Washington responded to Moscow’s proposals. Speaking on Wednesday, the head of the US-led military bloc, Jens Stoltenberg, said NATO “will not compromise” on potential expansion into Ukraine, Georgia, and other former Soviet republics, as this clashes with its “core principles.”
Last month, Russia handed over two draft documents, one addressed to Washington and the other to NATO, which it says are aimed at reducing the risk of conflict on the European continent. Moscow requested that the bloc refrain from any military activity on the territory of former Warsaw Pact states that joined after 1997, following the fall of the Soviet Union.
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