NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said the Alliance is engaged in discussions regarding the deployment of more nuclear weapons due to the increasing threats posed by Russia and China, Stoltenberg said in an interview with The Telegraph.
Stoltenberg emphasised that NATO must demonstrate its nuclear arsenal to the world to send a direct message to its adversaries.
He also stated that consultations are ongoing among NATO members regarding the withdrawal of missiles from storage and their readiness for deployment as a means of deterrence.
"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. That’s exactly what we’re doing," Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg emphasised that nuclear transparency must be the basis of NATO's nuclear strategy to prepare the Alliance for what he described as "a more dangerous world".
The Telegraph noted that nuclear exercises were conducted under strict secrecy when Stoltenberg took over NATO 10 years ago.
Now, he openly praises NATO's 32 allies for their contributions to deterrence, including recent investments by the Netherlands in dual-capable fighter aircraft capable of carrying US nuclear weapons.
"Transparency helps to communicate the direct message that we, of course, are a nuclear alliance."
"NATO’s aim is, of course, a world without nuclear weapons, but as long as nuclear weapons exist, we will remain a nuclear alliance, because a world where Russia, China and North Korea have nuclear weapons, and NATO does not, is a more dangerous world."
Stoltenberg warned that China, in particular, is investing substantial resources in modern weapons, including its nuclear arsenal, which he stated is expected to grow to 1,000 warheads by 2030.
"And that means that in a not-very-distant future," he said, "Nato may face something that it has never faced before, and that is two nuclear-powered potential adversaries – China and Russia. Of course, this has consequences," Stoltenberg concluded.
