Russia warns of increasing risk of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons

Europe, News November 10, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Russia’s Secretary of Security Council Nikolai Patrushev warned NATO and its partners about the increasing threat of nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare due to the growing global destabilization.

While speaking at the 11th meeting of security council secretaries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow, on November 8, 2023, Patrushev ascribed the rise of the potential for catastrophic conflict to the transformation of the world order.

The Russian Secretary of the Security Council said that the West is losing its influence but continues fighting for dominance, such an attitude would ignite a global conflict.

“They (Western countries) are increasing their military capabilities at an accelerated pace, trying to dictate their conditions more and more aggressively to states dependent on them economically and politically while using a wide range of coercive tools including blackmail, the manipulation of public opinion and attempts at unconstitutional changes of power,” he said.

Patrushev also pointed out that the U.S. has withdrawn from several international treaties that were considered pillars of arms control, including the Open Skies Treaty and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which seriously undermined the arms control system.

“The risk of using nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons is increasing. The militarization of outer space and cyberspace is being carried out at an accelerated pace,” he said.

*^{Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. (Image Credit: Mikhail Metzel/TASS)}*

Russian leadership and top officials have been warning the U.S. and its Western allies about the possible usage and risks of nuclear weapons. Earlier this year, Russia deployed its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, in a move that alerted the NATO member states and its European allies.

Russia’s withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

One day prior to Patrushev’s statement, Russia also announced its withdrawal from the Cold War-era arms control treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. The treaty, which was signed in November 1990, prevented Cold War rivals from deploying armed forces at or near their mutual borders.

Russia blamed the United States for undermining regional security with the expansion of the NATO military alliance closer to Russian borders. In response, NATO Allies condemned Russia’s decision to withdraw from the treaty and said they would also suspend its operations.

According to the NATO statement, “Russia’s withdrawal is the latest in a series of actions that systematically undermines Euro-Atlantic security. Russia continues to demonstrate disregard for arms control, including key principles of reciprocity, transparency, compliance, verification, and host nation consent, and undermines the rules-based international order.”

*^{Flags at North Atlantic Treaty Organization headquarters. (Image Credit: NATO)}*

NATO Allies condemned Russia’s move which they describe to be a step that undermines Euro-Atlantic security. A NATO statement highlighted that the Allies are committed to reducing military risks, and preventing misperceptions and conflicts, as well as striving to “build trust and confidence, based on key principles of transparency, compliance, verification, reciprocity, and host nation consent, thereby contributing to peace and security”.

The military alliance also vowed to continue consultations and assess the implications of the current security environment and its impact on the security of the NATO Alliance. “Allies will make use of NATO as a platform for in-depth discussion and close consultation on arms control efforts,” the NATO statement added.