NATO will conduct nuclear deterrence exercises

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced on Tuesday that it will conduct nuclear deterrence exercises next week.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance “will conduct, during the next week, long-planned nuclear deterrence exercises,” stressing that “it is a routine exercise conducted annually, and its goal is to maintain our deterrence capabilities safe and effective”.

Stoltenberg stressed, during a press conference on the eve of the meeting of NATO defense ministers, on Wednesday, that “the possibility of Russia’s use of nuclear weapons is currently uncertain, and we are closely monitoring the situation”.

He added, “We want to remove any threat from the territories of the NATO countries, but we don’t want Russia to misunderstand this in such a way that it escalates”.

He indicated that the defense ministers of the NATO countries will discussed, with the Ukrainian Defense Minister, “Kyiv’s need for weapons, such as anti-tank systems, air defense systems and others”.

Stoltenberg claimed that NATO isn’t a party to the conflict in Ukraine, but supports Kyiv in the war against Russia”.

He pointed out that the NATO defense ministers will also discuss, during their meeting tomorrow, “the protection of infrastructure, especially after the incident of the Nord Stream Lines 1 and 2 leak,” stressing that “the Allies will strengthen the protection of infrastructure,” and warning that “any attack against the infrastructure of the allies will be confronted.

In a related context, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged all interested media and political analysts, Tuesday, “not to exaggerate the issue of the nuclear threat, and not to artificially heat it up”.

“I appeal, through you, to all those interested in this situation and the issue of nuclear threats, who are trying to cover it in the media space, and I tell them that there is no need to artificially heat it up,” Lavrov said, in an interview with Russia 1 TV channel.

Lavrov advised analysts and politicians to “bear responsibility as much as possible in their public statements, and not to play such games, in a way that exacerbates tension to the maximum”.

A number of US officials confirmed to CNN that “US President Joe Biden’s warning, Thursday night, that the world faces the highest possibility of nuclear war in 60 years, wasn’t based on any new intelligence about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions, or changes Russia’s nuclear position.

CNN said that “the United States doesn’t yet see any evidence that Putin is moving towards the use of Russian nuclear capability, and there is no intelligence information to show that he decided to do so”.

According to CNN, Biden’s assessment surprised a number of senior American officials, due, in large part, to the “lack of any new intelligence that leads them to use the bleak language that Biden used”.

Putin stated that “Russia, as a state party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, adheres to the letter and spirit of the Treaty.

We’ve also fully fulfilled our obligations under bilateral agreements with the United States on related arms reductions and limitations”.