Moscow: The possible deployment of a NATO military base and nuclear weapons in Lithuania would further escalate tensions, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
“Both of these things will not contribute to stability and predictability on the European continent. On the contrary, they will become another significant round in the escalation of tensions,” Peskov said.
A constitutional amendment to lift a ban on weapons of mass destruction, potentially opening the way for stationing NATO nuclear weapons in Lithuania, passed the first reading in the Lithuanian parliament earlier Tuesday. A final vote on the amendment has been scheduled for Jan. 12, 2027, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Peskov added that if such deployment occurs, Russia would be forced to take retaliatory measures to ensure its national security.
Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged a careful study of Russia’s military doctrine while commenting on Poland’s plans to host Patriot missile production and on Europe’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
“We have a military doctrine on this matter, which the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has repeatedly quoted. I urge you to carefully study the relevant section of this most important document,” Lavrov told reporters on the sidelines of the 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club, Tass reported.
Earlier, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said Poland had proposed to the US joint production with Ukraine of missiles for Patriot air defence systems in a “safe place”, according to Tass.
Warsaw is currently organising the 50th tranche of military aid to Ukraine. The total cost of all weapons packages it has handed over to Kyiv since 2022 is about $5 billion.
In summer 2026, a scandal erupted in Poland over the supply of several missiles for Patriot systems to Ukrainian forces under a general NATO aid package. The opposition then accused the authorities of damaging Poland’s security.
(IANS)
