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In the context of the effects of the pandemic, the North Atlantic Alliance will intensify defense measures against attacks with biological or chemical weapons, says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, reports Mediafax.
While noting that the pandemic is not caused by a virus developed in the laboratory, Jens Stoltenberg notes that the current crisis highlights the risks of biological or chemical attacks.
In this context, Jens Stoltenberg affirms that the North Atlantic Alliance will intensify actions to counter attacks with unconventional weapons, including improving the exchange of information between the security services.
“These weapons are, like chemical weapons, generally prohibited, but we must be prepared to counter their use, as such weapons still exist,” said Jens Stoltenberg, warning that terrorist groups or states could use biological or chemical weapons, which could kill hundreds of thousands of people.
“NATO does not have prohibited weapons, but we have a wide range of capabilities to respond to such attacks,” Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with the DPA, quoted by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The North Atlantic Alliance would activate Article 5 on collective defense in the event of a biological weapons attack targeting a NATO state, Jens Stoltenberg noted.
The NATO Secretary General has assured that the North Atlantic Alliance will continue to provide logistical assistance to mitigate the effects of the current pandemic. “NATO and the military can support the distribution of vaccines,” Stoltenberg said.
The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center has been providing assistance to NATO member states for months to counter the effects of the pandemic.
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, has warned since July that the pandemic highlights the risks of terrorist attacks with biological weapons.
Publisher: AC
