NATO Chief Says the Alliance Is Adapting Its Nuclear Arsenal to Security Threats

 NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg gives a press conference on the eve of a NATO Defense ministers meeting at the organization's headquarters in Brussels on June 12, 2024. (AFP)
NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg gives a press conference on the eve of a NATO Defense ministers meeting at the organization's headquarters in Brussels on June 12, 2024. (AFP)
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NATO Chief Says the Alliance Is Adapting Its Nuclear Arsenal to Security Threats

 NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg gives a press conference on the eve of a NATO Defense ministers meeting at the organization's headquarters in Brussels on June 12, 2024. (AFP)
NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg gives a press conference on the eve of a NATO Defense ministers meeting at the organization's headquarters in Brussels on June 12, 2024. (AFP)

In a rare reference to the Western nuclear arsenal, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday highlighted the alliance's efforts to adapt its capabilities to current security threats, taking note of Russia latest nuclear rhetoric and drills.

Talking to reporters before a two-day NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels that will include a gathering of the alliance's nuclear planning group, he called nuclear weapons NATO's "ultimate security guarantee" and a means to preserve peace.

While it is well known that the US has deployed nuclear bombs to several locations in Europe, NATO rarely talks about these weapons publicly.

Discussing what he called "the ongoing adaptation" of NATO's nuclear arsenal, Stoltenberg said the Netherlands in June declared the first F-35 fighter jets ready to carry nuclear arms and said the US was modernizing its nuclear weapons in Europe.

He described increasing Russian activity around its nuclear capabilities. "What we have seen over the last years and months is a dangerous nuclear rhetoric from the Russian side.... We also see some more exercises, nuclear exercises on the Russian side," he said.

On Tuesday, Russia said its troops had started the second stage of drills to practice the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons alongside Belarusian troops after what Moscow said were threats from Western powers.

Since sending thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said Moscow could use nuclear weapons to defend itself in extreme situations.

Russia accuses the US and its European allies of pushing the world to the brink of nuclear confrontation by giving Ukraine billions of dollars worth of weapons, some of which are being used against Russian territory.

Stoltenberg also referred also to the modernization of China's nuclear weapons, saying Beijing was expected to boost the number of nuclear missiles within a few years and many of them would be able to reach NATO territory.



Pope Marks 12th Anniversary of Papacy Hospitalized but with Condition Improving

(FILES) Pope Francis is silhouetted against window light during a private audience with Malta's President, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at the Vatican on September 29, 2014. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / POOL / AFP)
(FILES) Pope Francis is silhouetted against window light during a private audience with Malta's President, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at the Vatican on September 29, 2014. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / POOL / AFP)
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Pope Marks 12th Anniversary of Papacy Hospitalized but with Condition Improving

(FILES) Pope Francis is silhouetted against window light during a private audience with Malta's President, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at the Vatican on September 29, 2014. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / POOL / AFP)
(FILES) Pope Francis is silhouetted against window light during a private audience with Malta's President, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at the Vatican on September 29, 2014. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / POOL / AFP)

Pope Francis marked the 12th anniversary of his papacy Thursday with increasingly positive medical updates four weeks into his hospitalization for double pneumonia.
The pope spent another tranquil night, the Vatican said in its brief morning statement.
A chest X-ray confirmed improvements, the Vatican said on Wednesday, just two days after doctors declared he’s no longer in imminent danger of death. The latest medical bulletin said that the 88-year-old pope’s condition remained stable, but indicated a complex picture considering his overall fragility, The Associated Press reported.
The Holy See hasn’t said how the anniversary of his election as the 266th pope might be commemorated. It is a public holiday at the Vatican and Masses are planned in his honor at churches in Rome. No medical bulletins will be issued.
Francis on Wednesday remotely followed a Lenten spiritual retreat that has been a mainstay of his papacy. He continues to receive high flows of oxygen through nasal tubes during the day and a non-invasive mechanical mask to aid his rest at night.
Former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on the fifth ballot of the 2013 conclave, which was called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned.
While Francis has praised Benedict’s humility in stepping down and said he might follow in his footsteps, more recently he has said the papacy is a job for life.
Another milestone comes Friday, when Francis marks four weeks of hospitalization.