Russia has the right to deploy nuclear weapons to Crimea, the Foreign Ministry's arms-control chief, Mikhail Ulyanov, said in an interview with news agency RIA Novosti published Monday.
“Russia certainly has the right to deploy, if necessary, nuclear weapons anywhere on its national territory, including the Crimean Peninsula,” Ulyanov was quoted as saying in response to comments made by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin at a NATO meeting earlier this month.
Klimkin said the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons to the disputed territory of Crimea, which Russia annexed in March last year, would be a violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT is an international agreement which prohibits states defined as non-nuclear from attaining nuclear weapons.
Russia and Ukraine have been trading rhetorical shots over this issue for months. Crimea is still recognized by the United Nations as Ukrainian territory — a non-nuclear state according to the NPT — but Russia has claimed the peninsula as part of its sovereign territory.
Under the NPT, Russia is one of five nuclear states, alongside the U.S., Britain, France and China, allowed to field nuclear weapons anywhere in its territory.
Though it has not yet deployed nuclear warheads to Crimea, the Defense Ministry earlier announced plans to relocate 10 Tu-22M3 nuclear-capable bombers to the peninsula, RIA reported.
The bombers will be outfitted with conventional, rather than nuclear cruise missiles, according to RIA.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.