Brussels:
NATO told Moscow on Tuesday it would respond to attacks on allies’ critical infrastructure with a “united and determined response” and also kept a close eye on Russia’s nuclear forces as the country “loses on the battlefield” in Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that while the defense alliance had seen no changes in Russia’s nuclear stance, it was vigilant and would continue with its own nuclear preparedness exercise next week.
“Now is the time to stand firm and make it clear that NATO is here to protect and defend all allies… It would send a very wrong signal if we suddenly canceled a routine, long-planned exercise because of the war in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.
He referred to the annual “Steadfast Noon” exercise, in which NATO air forces practice the use of US nuclear bombs in Europe with training flights, without live weapons.
“It’s an exercise to ensure that our nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and effective,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference ahead of a two-day meeting of Western Alliance defense ministers in Brussels.
He said NATO military strength was the best way to avoid escalating tensions with Russia, which has made veiled threats to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine, which it invaded on Feb. 24.
Stoltenberg also pledged to strengthen critical infrastructure protection in response to the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, saying NATO had already doubled its presence in the Baltic and North Sea to more than 30 ships supported by aircraft and submarine activities. .
“We will further enhance protection of critical infrastructure in the face of the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines,” he said.
It remains unclear who was behind the attack on the pipelines.
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