MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) works on a scenario of using nuclear weapons against Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told TASS on Thursday.
"NATO practices the so-called joint nuclear missions. It means that non-nuclear alliance member states are involved in the military planning of nuclear weapons’ use and their experts are trained how to handle US nuclear munitions," Galuzin said in an interview with TASS.
"Moreover, the [alliance’s military] drills work out scenarios of its [nuclear weapons] use against our country," the diplomat stressed.
Galuzin said that despite any real threats the United States maintained its nuclear munition storages on the territory of non-nuclear NATO member states since the Cold War era.
The Russian side has repeatedly emphasized that this situation "negatively affects the situation in the sphere of international and European security," the diplomat continued.
"However, at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, the West made a number of decisions, including in the sphere of military planning, aimed at strengthening the bloc’s military capabilities and the development of its infrastructure near the borders of the Union State [of Russia and Belarus]," Galuzin stated.