NATO member states in the future may begin to justify any use of nuclear weapons.

This opinion was expressed by Andrei Belousov, deputy head of the Russian delegation, at a conference to review the operation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

According to him, such a conclusion suggests itself in connection with a number of points.

In particular, NATO has finally secured the status of a nuclear military-political bloc, having written this provision in the final declaration of the alliance's Madrid summit, he recalled.

In addition, NATO conducts exercises to test the use of nuclear weapons, involving non-nuclear members of the alliance in them.

In addition, American nuclear weapons are located on the territory of several such countries, which “makes us take a different look at the status of non-nuclear members of the bloc.”

“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,” Belousov said.

According to him, all statements by representatives of the alliance that “joint nuclear missions” do not contradict the NPT and were allegedly agreed upon at the stage of preparing this agreement are nothing more than excuses to justify actions that run counter to the key provisions of the NPT.

Belousov also stressed that Washington, in its doctrinal documents, reserves the right to use nuclear weapons under the pretext of threatening the "vital interests" of the United States or its allies.

“An analysis of this thesis leads to the idea that the United States reserved the ability to use nuclear weapons at any time, for any reason and against any state, simply by declaring that their vital interests were affected.

And this is the real threat of a nuclear war.

Especially considering that the United States remains the only state that has put its nuclear arsenal into practice, ”said Belousov.

  • Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium

  • Legion Media

  • © BENOIT DOPPAGNE/Belga/Sipa USA

The diplomat added that the attempts made by Russia at the end of 2021 to reduce tensions in relations with the United States and make the situation in Europe and the world more stable and predictable did not meet "neither support nor understanding" from Washington and its NATO partners.

Expansion of nuclear weapons

According to open data, American tactical nuclear weapons are located at air bases in Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey.

Experts estimate that the United States holds about 150 nuclear weapons in Europe alone.

The location of part of the American nuclear arsenal in 2019 was indirectly confirmed by Canadian Senator Joseph Day, who at that time was a member of the Defense and Security Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

His report, which appeared on the Internet, listed US bases abroad where the US stores its nuclear weapons.

After some time, the report was deleted, and then reappeared on the network, but in a corrected form.

As The Washington Post reported on July 16, information about the locations of American nuclear weapons was no longer in it.

The author of the document himself, commenting on the situation, stated that the original version of the document was a draft, and all the data used there was allegedly obtained from open sources.

In the United States, the presence of its nuclear weapons in Europe is neither officially confirmed nor denied.

At the same time, they emphasize that they consider themselves entitled to use the nuclear arsenal if such a need arises.

In particular, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated this position on August 1 at the NPT review conference.

“As long as nuclear weapons exist, the fundamental role of American nuclear weapons will be to deter nuclear attacks against the United States, our allies and partners.

The United States could only consider using nuclear weapons in an emergency to protect the vital interests of the United States, its allies and partners," he said.

The Secretary of State also stated that the world must renounce the proliferation of nuclear weapons and use nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes.

At the same time, in December 2021, US President Joe Biden called on Congress to approve the transfer of data on naval nuclear power plants to Australia.

The agreement under the new AUKUS security alliance will not only allow the bloc's three countries to share information about naval nuclear installations, but also authorize the transfer of classified data.

NATO is also in no hurry to give guarantees of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons on the territory of the member countries of the association.

Moreover, against the backdrop of a Russian special operation in Ukraine, Poland started talking about its readiness to deploy a US nuclear arsenal in the country.

  • Polish military personnel

  • Gettyimages.ru

  • © Omar Marques

The prospect of deploying nuclear weapons on the territory of potential members of the bloc is also being considered by NATO leadership.

Thus, Camille Grand, assistant secretary general of the alliance, commented on the possible accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO in an interview with the RTS television channel on June 7.

“Every country in the nuclear field has the right to deploy or not deploy such weapons.

We are not talking about establishing any fundamental restrictions on the possible actions of the alliance ... I do not think that in the current situation it is necessary to give Russia any guarantees regarding our military position in the region, ”he said.

In violation of the NPT

The deployment of US tactical nuclear weapons in Europe has been repeatedly criticized by the parties to the NPT.

As Igor Vishnevetsky, Deputy Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said at a conference to review the NPT on August 8, the United States must withdraw its weapons from the territory of third countries.

“U.S. nuclear weapons must be withdrawn to national territory, the infrastructure for their deployment in Europe has been eliminated, and the practice of NATO “joint nuclear missions” has been terminated,” he said.

The diplomat stressed that the participation of non-nuclear NATO members in exercises to test the use of nuclear weapons and the deployment of these weapons on their territory are contrary to Articles I and II of the NPT.

Li Song, Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made a similar statement at the same conference on August 10.

He stressed that the US must abandon the policy and practice of the nuclear umbrella and withdraw all nuclear weapons deployed abroad.

Game outside the rules

According to experts, NATO, by granting itself a nuclear status, is trying to strengthen its position as the world's gendarme and promote American geopolitical interests.

At the same time, the bloc easily dismisses the provisions of the NPT, as they feel support from Washington, Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, noted in an interview with RT.

“The United States sets its own rules and requires their observance not only from controlled organizations and alliances, but from the whole world.

However, these rules go against international conventions.

The United States, coming up with new excuses, is simply untying its hands, ”the analyst explained.

At the same time, the security that the Americans promise by imposing their nuclear umbrella on the Europeans is very ephemeral, he believes.

“For European countries that willingly use it, everything can end quite badly.

Because, by placing foreign nuclear weapons on their territory, they themselves become targets for the strategic nuclear forces of Russia, which does not intend to silently observe how stockpiles of American nuclear bombs grow near its borders, ”he added.

In turn, Vladimir Vinokurov, professor at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, head of the Center for Military-Diplomatic Analysis and Assessments, in a conversation with RT, noted that NATO is trying to flex its muscles against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian special operation in Ukraine.

“NATO has unequivocally stated that Kyiv must win on the battlefield at any cost.

But they cannot fail to understand the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.

At the same time, the presence of American nuclear bombs in their warehouses inspires them to loud statements.

Although the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of non-nuclear countries is a flagrant violation of the NPT,” the expert said.

According to him, in the West today they are replacing the main international principles, formatting them to suit their interests.

“Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, deceit, forgery - all this is typical today for the foreign policy and diplomacy of the United States, the EU and NATO,” Vinokurov said.

He also emphasized that such an approach to international provisions and the further spread of non-peaceful nuclear technologies under far-fetched pretexts only lead to aggravation of tension in the world and an imbalance in nuclear forces.

“All this is fraught with the fact that non-nuclear countries will consider they have the right to use nuclear arsenals, as long as they have them.

Moreover, the United States is training their military to use them.

All this can lead to an uncontrollable world conflict and to the very red line, beyond which there is only the third world war with the use of the most destructive weapons on an unlimited scale, ”Vinokurov summed up.