Wednesday's address by Russian President Vladimir Putin only helped to unify NATO in the face of Moscow's nuclear rhetoric, the alliance's deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoana, said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2022) Wednesday's address by Russian President Vladimir Putin only helped to unify NATO in the face of Moscow's nuclear rhetoric, the alliance's deputy secretary general, Mircea Geoana, said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Putin announced the partial mobilization amid the Russian military operation in Ukraine. He also voiced support for referenda on joining Russia announced on Tuesday in the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR, LPR) as well as in the Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine. The Russian leader accused the west of using the threat of nuclear weapons to blackmail Russia, and warned that Moscow will use all means at its disposal if its territorial integrity is threatened.
"What Mr. Putin has been saying yesterday is having NATO more united than ever. We are calm, we are determined. We knew that this escalation would come. We are also condemning forcefully the nuclear rhetoric and this is something that a major power, a nuclear power would experience in the global affairs, in strategic affairs. Soviet Union and now Russia. They also carry an obligation not to misuse the rhetoric," Geoana said during his speech at Budapest Forum 2022.
Geoana also characterized Putin's words about nuclear weapons as strategic communication trick, adding that NATO's intelligence shows no signs of heightened readiness of Russia's nuclear forces.
"In real terms we are not seeing and our intelligence is not indicating any change on the nuclear readiness of Russia, level of alertness or any significant moves. But this is strategic communication trying to influence the morale of Ukrainians and the resolve of the West. This trick would not work," the NATO representative added.
On Tuesday, DPR and LPR as well as the Russian-controlled parts of the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson said that they would hold referendums on accession to Russia from September 23-27.
The DPR and LPR proclaimed their independence from Ukraine in 2014 after holding self-determination referendums. In February 2022, Russia recognized the DPR and LPR and launched a military operation in Ukraine in response to calls for help from the two breakaway republics.
