NATO’s Stoltenberg: Russia Using Chemical Weapons Would Be ‘Blatant’ Violation of International Law

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Russia’s use of chemical weapons in Ukraine would be a “blatant and brutal violation of international law.”

Stoltenberg said, “Our allies support Ukraine, but at the same time, it is extremely important that we prevent this conflict from becoming a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia because that will cause much more damage, much more death, destruction than what we see now in Ukraine. Russia is a nuclear power.”

Stoltenberg said, “Any use of chemical weapons would be a blatant and brutal violation of international law, the ban on the use of chemical weapons. At the same time, we know that Russia has used chemical agents in Europe before, against their own political opponents, and Russia has been facilitating and supporting the Assad regime in Syria, where chemical weapons has been used. This is something we take extremely serious.”

He added, “We are very much aware of that we need to act in a way that prevents this conflict from going from being a very bloody, ugly, horrific conflict in Ukraine to something that turns out to be a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia, in Europe, and also potentially involving, of course, the United States directly.”

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