Russia should place its nuclear weapons in “friendly countries” near the US in response to Washington’s alleged plans to move its own tactical arms to Europe, lawmaker Aleksey Zhuravlev has suggested.
His comments came after The Telegraph reported on Saturday that the US is looking to deploy its nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years, to counter a supposedly increased threat from Russia.
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In a post on Telegram, Zhuravlev, who is first deputy chairman of the Russian parliamentary defense committee and leader of the Rodina (Motherland) party, pointed out that Britain has its nuclear weapons, and that the US has already deployed part of its atomic arsenal to several European countries close to Russia.
“Therefore, it’s unlikely that additional deployment [of nuclear weapons to the UK] would affect the military-political landscape,” Zhuravlev surmised.
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Nevertheless, the politician suggested that Moscow should consider deploying its own nuclear weapons closer to the US and send them to “friendly countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.”
Zhuravlev admitted, however, that weapons systems have made a big leap in the years since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. “Russian hypersonic missiles launched from our territory would reach the US faster than subsonic ones launched from the American underbelly,” the MP wrote.
He also pointed out that Russia has strategic aviation as well as a vast arsenal of submarines stationed in unknown locations around the world’s oceans.
“We have ways to respond to any encroachments by the US and NATO, which it controls,” Zhuravlev said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has previously warned that Moscow would be forced to enact “compensatory countermeasures” if American nuclear warheads return to Britain. Russia has also repeatedly accused the West of fueling tensions in Europe, and has cited NATO’s continued eastward expansion as one of the root causes of the Ukraine conflict.
Meanwhile, some Western officials – including from the UK, Germany, Estonia, and even the chair of NATO’s Military Committee – have stoked fears of a supposed Russian attack on Europe in the next few years, and have called on Western governments and citizens to prepare for a major conflict with Moscow.
Russia, however, has vehemently denied any plans to invade neighboring European countries, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling such claims a “hoax.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has also stressed that Moscow “has no interest… geopolitically, economically or militarily… in waging war against NATO” and would instead prefer to improve ties with the US-led bloc.