Putin: "NATO Aims to Dismantle Russia... Need to Consider UK and France's Nuclear Capabilities"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) a military alliance aimed at the "dismantling of Russia" and argued that the nuclear capabilities of NATO member countries such as the United Kingdom and France must be considered.

According to major foreign media on the 26th (local time), President Putin said in an interview with Russia's state broadcaster Rossiya 1, "NATO member countries are sending tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine, and this is true participation in the war." He added, "NATO has one goal: to dismantle the Russian Federation," and "NATO is proving itself to be a military alliance, not a political one."

President Putin mentioned NATO countries possessing nuclear weapons besides the United States, such as the United Kingdom and France, and questioned, "Can we ignore the nuclear capabilities of those countries when major NATO members aim to deliver a strategic defeat to us?"

He also stated, "I understand that NATO issued a statement regarding our declaration to suspend participation in New START and requested discussions on this matter. If that is true, we have no reason to oppose it. Let them participate in the discussions." New START is an agreement signed by the United States and Russia in 2010, which aims to reduce the number of nuclear warheads and delivery systems to certain limits and includes regular inspections of nuclear facilities between the two countries.

The agreement was extended once and is valid until February 2026, but further extension negotiations have been stalled since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. President Putin declared the suspension of participation in New START during his state of the nation address on the 22nd.