As the 30-member alliance prepares to counter the growing threat of a biological, chemical, or nuclear attack, NATO took on two of the world’s superpowers on Wednesday, condemning both Russia and China.
“Russia must stop threatening the world with nuclear weapons. This is both dangerous and irresponsible “Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO, told reporters.
“Nuclear weapons use will fundamentally alter the nature of the conflict. And Russia must recognise that a nuclear war should never be waged “He went on. “They will never be victorious in a nuclear war.”
As the 30-member alliance prepares to counter the growing threat of a biological, chemical, or nuclear attack, NATO took on two of the world’s superpowers on Wednesday, condemning both Russia and China.
“Russia must stop threatening the world with nuclear weapons. This is both dangerous and irresponsible “Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO, told reporters.
“Nuclear weapons use will fundamentally alter the nature of the conflict. And Russia must recognise that a nuclear war should never be waged “He went on. “They will never be victorious in a nuclear war.”
The secretary-remarks general’s came just hours after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to rule out a nuclear attack and President Biden warned that the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine is a “real threat.”
Stoltenberg said he expects all 30 nations to attend the Thursday summit, which will focus on increasing aid to Ukraine and strengthening defences against chemical and biological attacks.
“We cannot take peace for granted,” warned the secretary-general.
Stoltenberg refused to go into specifics about how NATO nations are assisting Ukraine and neighbouring countries in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s increasing threats, but he did warn Moscow that the alliance is ready to counter “any threat, any attack.”
“We face a fundamentally changed security environment where authoritarian powers are increasingly prepared to use force to get their way,” he told reporters. “Beijing has joined Moscow in questioning the right of independent nations to choose their own path. China has provided Russia with political support, including by spreading blatant lies and misinformation.”
Stoltenberg said he expects NATO leaders to discuss China’s growing role in the Ukrainian conflict, despite the fact that it has refused to condemn the illegal invasion and has spread the “same lies” as the Kremlin.
Security officials have become increasingly concerned that China may seek to provide material support to Russia, a move that Biden warned against during his call with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.
Moscow has accused Washington and Kiev of plotting to use chemical weapons against Russian forces, who have been stranded in Ukraine for the fourth week.
However, Stoltenberg dismissed the accusation as “absolutely[ly] false” and warned that NATO is becoming increasingly concerned about the rhetoric.
“It may be a way for them to try to create a pretext for their use of chemical weapons,” he said citing Russia’s known use of the internationally banned weapons in Syria and on NATO territory in the U.K.
“The use of chemical weapons will totally change the nature of the conflict, and it will be a blatant violation of international law and will have far-reaching consensus,” he added. “Any use of chemical weapons is absolutely unacceptable.”
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