Amid escalating geopolitical tensions, the US President Joe Biden on Thursday said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will respond if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.
The US President made these remarks on the Russian invasion of Ukraine during a news conference after a NATO summit and Group of Seven meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.
"We would respond if he uses it. The nature of the response would depend on the nature of use," Biden said, when asked if the US or NATO would respond with military actions if Russian President Vladimir Putin uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.
When asked about China's close ties with Russia, the US President said, “I think that China understands that its economic future is much more closely tied to the West than it is to Russia. And so I — I’m hopeful that he — he does not get engaged. We also did discuss today that there’s a need for us to set up, NATO to set up, and — and the EU — to set up a system whereby we have an organization looking at who has violated any of the sanctions, and where and when and how they violated them. And that’s something we’re going to put in train. It’s not done yet."
It is important to note that NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday said that NATO has activated chemical, biological, and nuclear defence elements in wake of the threats being issued by Russia of changing the nature of the conflict using biological weapons in Ukraine.
While speaking at the NATO Summit to address Russia's invasion, Stoltenberg expressed his concern over the possibility of using biological weapons by Russia in Ukraine.
"We are concerned because Russia might use the pretext of NATO preparing for a biological attack to carry out the same in Ukraine. If it happens, it'll change the nature of the conflict. It won't just affect Ukraine but also NATO countries," he cautioned the member countries.
He stated, "NATO allies have agreed to supply weapons to Ukraine to tackle such attacks. We have activated our chemical, biological, and nuclear defence elements".
The development comes as Russia has refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said that if there is an existential threat for Russia, the country can use the nukes.
On February 24, Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics requested help in defending themselves. What followed the military operation was a slew of sanctions imposed by the western countries targeting the Russian economy.
(With inputs from agencies)
