The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is threatening to increase its deployment of nuclear weapons, raising global tensions. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg claims the alliance faces growing threats from Russia and China.
Stoltenberg says NATO is considering transitioning some nuclear weapons from storage to operational status. “I won’t go into operational details about how many nuclear warheads should be operational and which should be stored, but we need to consult on these issues,” he claimed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov labeled Stoltenberg’s public remarks as “nothing else but an escalation,” warning President Vladimir Putin “takes the issue very seriously.”
NATO includes 32 member states, with the United States, United Kingdom, and France boasting nuclear arsenals.
U.S. nuclear weapons are located in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey. All told, the U.S. holds approximately 5,428 warheads, with 1,419 deployed. Russia has a larger arsenal, with an estimated 5,977 warheads, and 1,549 deployed.
Stoltenberg expressed concern over China’s increasing nuclear capabilities. Projections suggest the communist state could increase its arsenal to 1,000 warheads by the end of the decade.
Speaking to Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, in September, Donald Trump stressed deep concern about the “power of nuclear weapons.”
“We’ve never been in this danger; we’re close to World War III,” he said.
