NATO discusses bringing nuclear weapons to combat readiness – Stoltenberg

NATO members are in talks to deploy more nuclear weapons because of growing threats from Russia and China. Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke about this in an interview with The Telegraph.

He added that the bloc should show the world its nuclear arsenal to send a direct message to its enemies.

Stoltenberg said there had been vigorous consultation among members on removing the missiles from storage and putting them on standby, and called for transparency to be used as a deterrent.

“I will not go into operational detail about how many nuclear warheads should be operational and which should be stored, but we have to consult on these issues. That is exactly what we are doing,” Stoltenberg said.

He said nuclear transparency should be a cornerstone of NATO’s nuclear strategy to ensure the alliance is prepared for what he called a more dangerous world.

“Transparency helps convey a clear message that we are, of course, a nuclear alliance. Of course, NATO’s goal is a world without nuclear weapons, but as long as there are nuclear weapons, we will remain a nuclear alliance, because a world where Russia, China and North America Korea have nuclear weapons, but NATO does not – this is a more dangerous world,” said the secretary.

He warned that China in particular was investing heavily in advanced weapons, including its nuclear arsenal, which Stoltenberg said would grow to 1,000 warheads by 2030.

“And this means that in the not-too-distant future, NATO may face something it has never faced before, and this is two potential adversaries with nuclear weapons – China and Russia, of course, this has consequences,” said the leader of the alliance.

It was previously reported that Russia may be hiding 100 nuclear warheads in Kaliningrad.