YEKATERINBURG, September 15. /TASS/. European capitals are trying to pull nuclear weapons closer to Russian borders using the alleged Russian threat as a pretext, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on the sidelines of the International Festival of Youth (IFY).
The diplomat was commenting on Finland’s move to join a France-led nuclear deterrence initiative.
"Well, what else drives European authorities’ attempts in the expansion of their nuclear outreach to pull nuclear weapons closer to Russian borders <…> under the pretext of an alleged Russian threat as sovereign countries agree to host those, despite the will of their own citizens?" Zakharova asked rhetorically. "This, among other things, significantly facilitates the task for our military which would have an expanded arsenal of potential means of destruction to strike relevant facilities even from a shorter range - of course, in the event of conflict," she argued.
