Jens Stoltenberg accused of ‘escalation of tension’ as he warns of growing threat from Russia and China
secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has indicated that the military alliance is considering whether to increase the number of available nuclear weapons, triggering warnings from experts about the possibility of a new arms race., Stoltenberg said: “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.
Sebastian Brixey-Williams, the executive director of the Basic security thinktank, said: “I read it at this stage as a form of signalling intended to sober up Russia and China in order to try to avert an arms race. But we should not assume it is a bluff, and it may in fact make an arms race more likely.”
The US has 1,770 nuclear warheads placed on missiles or located on bases with operational forces, according to figures compiled by thethat it signed with the US, intended to set a ceiling on the number of strategic warheads deployed at 1,550. Tactical or battlefield nuclear weapons are not counted towards the New Start limit.
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