Kremlin Says NATO Nuclear Exercises Only Increase Tensions Amid Ukraine's War

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru)

JAKARTA - The nuclear exercise titled 'Steadfast Noon' held by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) only increases tensions amid the hot war' in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Given the 'hot war' phase of the Ukrainian conflict, such exercises will certainly result in nothing but a further escalation of tensions," Peskov said, quoted by TASS Oct. 15.

Peskov further said it was unlikely to hold nuclear arms talks with the US, something Washington had required that they be open to, as Western nuclear powers engage in the conflict against Russia and therefore any security talks must have a much wider scope.

"In the context of a war launched against Russia with indirect and even direct engagement of nuclear powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, it is absolutely impossible to discuss this without linking the matter to all other security aspects," Peskov said.

"Actually, our president has spoken about this. Russia considers such contact necessary and cannot be postponed, but we must consider all security concerns as a whole, taking into account the current situation," he explained.

On that occasion Peskov also rejected a statement from Bruno Kahl, head of Germany's foreign intelligence service, who previously said Russian troops would be in a position to attack NATO territory by the end of the decade.

"Russia has never moved with its military infrastructure towards NATO, always the other way around," Peskov said.

"Therefore, it is said the Russian armed forces that pose a danger to anyone is completely wrong, unreasonable, and, most importantly, contrary to the entire course of history, which has led to confrontations that we all have experienced together," he said.

As previously reported, NATO held a 'Steadfast Noon' exercise starting last Monday for the next two weeks.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte last week said the drills were a show of strong deterrence with rising nuclear rhetoric backgrounds from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It said there were about 60 aircraft, including F-35A fighter jets and B-52 bombers. A total of about two thousand military personnel will be involved from 13 countries and eight air bases.

Nuclear weapons will not be installed on planes at this time's drills including flights over Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as in airspace over Denmark, Britain, and the North Sea.

Noon's Steadfast drills are part of NATO's joint nuclear mission program, which allows the use of US tactical nuclear weapons mounted on non-nuclear member aircraft of the bloc.