Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Andrei Belousov said US military strategists are seriously examining scenarios involving the possible use of nuclear weapons in Europe.
According to Belousov, Washington’s growing focus on Russia’s non-strategic nuclear arsenal is aimed less at arms control than at shifting attention away from the US nuclear presence in Europe and from American missile and nuclear programs.
He warned that European countries should recognize the risks of what he described as Washington’s highly practical military planning approach toward the territory of its own allies.
Belousov also criticized proposals for greater transparency surrounding Russia’s non-strategic nuclear forces, as well as calls to reduce or eliminate them. In his view, such measures would not lower the risks but could instead increase the likelihood of nuclear weapons being used by the United States or its allies.
He also argued that Washington is actively seeking additional information about the composition and capabilities of Russia’s non-strategic nuclear arsenal.
Russia has previously called on the United States to remove all American nuclear weapons from Europe and dismantle the infrastructure used to deploy them. Belousov said Moscow regards the nuclear warheads stationed there as a strategic threat.