The Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, called on Washington to take back the nuclear weapons it sent to other countries.
"In these times of tension and heightened dangers, the nuclear states have a special responsibility to prevent escalation," the ambassador was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency TASS.
Antonov's comments came as a comment on what was published by the American newspaper Politico that Washington will speed up plans to store the B61-12 gravity bombs dropped from the air in Europe.
"Nevertheless, I call again on Washington to return all nuclear weapons it has sent abroad to its soil, and to eliminate the external infrastructure for their storage and maintenance," the ambassador added.
He also called on Washington to "abandon the practice of simulating the use of such weapons, including forces from non-nuclear states, in the framework of the joint nuclear missions of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which contravene the basic principles of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons."
Antonov emphasized that government officials "traditionally refer to these weapons as tactical and say that Russia's arsenal of similar weapons is much larger than that of the American one, but they do not disclose the fact that all tactical nuclear weapons are stored in central facilities in Russia and do not pose a threat to the United States." ".
Talk about Russia's nuclear weapons escalated after President Vladimir Putin hinted weeks ago that he might use "all means" available to defend his country's national security, raising fears of a nuclear conflict, while Moscow asserts that it is committed to its nuclear doctrine that determines the cases in which they are used. This type of weapon.