Original title: „Russia is aggressive – NATO needs nuclear weapons to protect the world and freedom on the planet!“
On May 12, 2020, an article appeared on the Internet with a sensationalist headline posted on the Magazin.mk website stating that Russia was aggressive because NATO needed nuclear weapons. Also, the order of the sentences, part of the statement of the Secretary General of NATO, has been changed in the text published on magazin.mk, which changes the context of the original statement.You can find the link to the original article here.
The title of the article and the content of the text differ dramatically. Namely, it is a classic “clickbait”, because with the title it alludes to some kind of race for nuclear weapons between the countries, which is not true at all. This text was originally published on the Serbian portal Informer.rs, and it is entirely taken from the portal Magazin.mk. The time between publishing the articles in both portals is in less than an hour.
The main point of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s statement is that NATO is committed to a world without nuclear weapons through effective control of nuclear weapons, disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. In this regard, NATO is making great progress in achieving this goal. “Since the end of the Cold War, NATO has reduced the number of nuclear weapons in Europe by about 90%.”
But while NATO is officially pushing for full control and nuclear disarmament, this is currently not possible because forces such as Russia and China are increasing their arsenal of nuclear weapons. “While NATO sees its nuclear deterrence, above all as a political tool, Russia is firmly integrating its nuclear arsenal into its military strategy.” Russia has deployed nuclear warhead missiles in Kaliningrad, just 500km from Berlin. Also, the illegal annexation of Crimea and the threat of a nuclear attack on Denmark, Romania and Poland, NATO member states, confirm NATO’s need to possess nuclear weapons.
NATO’s nuclear weapons goal is not to provoke conflict, but to preserve peace, deter aggression and prevent coercion. The so-called “nuclear umbrella”, based on a multilateral agreement between NATO member states, also defines the benefits, responsibilities and risks of nuclear sharing, and contributes to preventing further proliferation of nuclear weapons. In other words, NATO member states that do not have nuclear weapons should not develop nuclear capabilities to protect themselves, because those member states that possess nuclear weapons are committed to protecting their allies from the enemy through nuclear deterrence.
At last, it is not clear why Russia would be furious when it also has a large nuclear arsenal. Russia is one of the signatories to the START agreement, and has repeatedly violated nuclear disarmament provisions in the past. For example, such is the INF Treaty with a small and medium range.
In the end, this is a classic ‘clickbait’ that aims to attract as many readers as possible. The NATO Alliance is committed to protecting its member states and citizens living in them, as well as maintaining international peace and security, through the use of all available military-political means and tools that are available to it in accordance with international humanitarian law.
