NATO Holds Consultations on Putting Nuclear Weapons on Alert: Chief

NATO member states have started consultations on the need to put nuclear weapons on alert, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told The Daily Telegraph.

"I won’t go into operational details about how many nuclear warheads should be operational and which should be stored, but we need to consult on these issues. That’s exactly what we’re doing," he said.

The NATO chief added that transparency on the issue "helps to communicate the direct message" that NATO is a "nuclear alliance," TASS reported.

"NATO’s aim is, of course, a world without nuclear weapons, but as long as nuclear weapons exist, we will remain a nuclear alliance, because a world where Russia, China and North Korea have nuclear weapons, and NATO does not, is a more dangerous world," Stoltenberg stated.

 Russia sees concern growing around the world over increased nuclear rhetoric following reports that the US is changing its nuclear strategy, said Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna.

Earlier, a White House spokesman announced that the US was tweaking its nuclear strategy to counter Russia and China, and admitted that the US was expanding its nuclear arsenal.