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NATO not seeing any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture yet — chief

According to Jens Stoltenberg, Moscow’s declared plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are part of Russia’s conduct aiming to intimidate Western nations and make them stop their support for Ukraine

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg

© AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

BRUSSELS, April 3. /TASS/. NATO has not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that could require a response, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels on Monday.

Speaking ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting slated for April 4-5, the NATO chief said, "So far, we haven’t seen any changes in their nuclear posture that requires any change, changing our nuclear posture." Stoltenberg also said NATO continued to keep a close eye on the situation around Moscow’s decision to deploy nukes in Belarus.

According to the NATO chief, Moscow’s declared plans to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are part of Russia’s conduct aiming to intimidate Western nations and make them stop their support for Ukraine. "We are united in our determination to stay the course.

And support Ukraine for as long as it takes," he stressed.

On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that at Minsk’s request, Moscow would deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, similar to what the United States had long been doing on the territory of its allies. Moscow has already provided Minsk with Iskander tactical missile systems capable of carrying nuclear weapons. As the Russian leader pointed out, the construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons would have been completed in Belarus by July 1.

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