Russia: NATO Will Soon Begin to Justify Use of Nuclear Weapons | Farsnews Agency

In the future, NATO countries can be expected to justify any use of nuclear weapons, Deputy Head of the Russian Delegation Andrei Belousov said at the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

He pointed to NATO's final assignment of the status of a nuclear military-political bloc, "which is directly spelled out in the final declaration of the alliance's Madrid summit", RIA Novosti reported.

"The NPT community has yet to analyze the consequences of this circumstance, which forces us to take a different look at the status of non-nuclear members of the bloc, especially those on whose territory American nuclear weapons are deployed. In this regard, the question of how the presence of foreign nuclear weapons and their participation in the nuclear alliance is combined with their obligations under the NPT," Belousov stated.

According to him, Moscow has long been asking a similar question in connection with NATO's "joint nuclear missions" to test the use of nuclear weapons, in which non-nuclear members of the alliance are actively involved.

He noted that Moscow has already heard statements more than once that this practice does not contradict the NPT and that the conduct of such missions was allegedly agreed upon at the stage of preparation of the Treaty.

"We consider such arguments nothing more than excuses to justify actions that run counter to the key provisions of the NPT, recognized as the cornerstone of international security," Belousov stressed.

"If we sum up all these facts, then the conclusion suggests itself that in the future NATO member states can be expected to justify any use of nuclear weapons. By the way, there is every reason for such a conclusion," the diplomat added.

He explained that US doctrinal documents stipulate the use of nuclear weapons under the pretext of threatening their own vital interests or those of their allies.

"An analysis of this thesis leads to the conclusion that the United States has reserved the ability to use nuclear weapons at any time, for any reason and against any state, simply declaring that their vital interests are affected. And this is the real threat of a nuclear war. Especially considering the fact that the United States remains the only state to put its nuclear arsenal into practice," he concluded.

Belousov recalled that the attempts made by Russia at the end of 2021 to reduce tensions between the United States and the Russian Federation, to make the situation in Europe and in the world more stable and predictable, did not meet with either support or understanding from the States and their NATO allies.