Russia must to react to the threat posed by US nuclear weapons deployed in Europe, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday, while accusing the West of openly waging a “real war” against Moscow.
Speaking at a forum dedicated to Eurasian security in Belarusian capital Minsk, Lavrov reiterated Russia’s criticism of NATO’s nuclear sharing scheme. Under the plan, part of the US nuclear arsenal is stationed outside the country, with training provided to allies on how to deploy the weapons.
According to Lavrov, this arrangement creates “increased strategic risks,” as well as generating “an extremely destabilizing charge and forces us to resort to compensatory measures amid the general increase of threats posed by NATO.”
Dozens of US nuclear bombs are reportedly stored in Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Türkiye. Some non-host nations, such as Poland, have received training in using the weapons, which Moscow considers a form of nuclear proliferation.