Reuters. Following comments by NATO's chief that the military alliance was holding talks on deploying more nuclear weapons, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby on Monday (June 17) said it would be irresponsible not have those talks.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told Britain's Telegraph newspaper that NATO members were consulting about deploying more nuclear weapons, taking them out of storage and placing them on standby in the face of a growing threat from Russia and China.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Stoltenberg's comments appeared to contradict a communique issued at a weekend conference in Switzerland that said any threat or use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine context was inadmissible.
During a White House briefing, Kirby told reporters NATO is a defensive alliance but that "it would be irresponsible and imprudent" if allies did not had constant talks about military capabilities.
NATO had earlier sought to clarify Stoltenberg's remarks, saying there were no significant changes to its nuclear posture.
