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Nuclear weapons should not be part of military aid to Ukraine, warns Czech president-elect

Petr Pavel also spoke against direct involvement of NATO in the conflict

PRAGUE, February 3. /TASS/. Shipments of nuclear arms and NATO’s direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict should not be part of military aid for Kiev, Czech President-elect Petr Pavel said in an interview with Bloomberg on Friday.

"I believe that we shouldn’t put any cap on equipment," Pavel said. "The only exception is nuclear weapons and direct involvement of NATO in the conflict."

The Czech president-elect, a retired general and a former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, acknowledged that the possession of nuclear weapons by members of the North Atlantic Alliance should be "a deterrent" to any considerations concerning the use of atomic arms that Moscow allegedly has.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Western leaders exercise nuclear rhetoric on a daily basis, emphasizing that Russia does not want to take part in these exercises. The presidential spokesman recalled that Moscow could use nuclear weapons only in compliance with its nuclear doctrine.

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