BRUSSELS
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg accused Russia on Tuesday of "saber rattling" in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement on the Russian military receiving 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Stoltenberg said: "This nuclear saber-rattling of Russia is unjustified."
"It's destabilizing and it's dangerous. This is something which we are addressing, and it's also one of the reasons we are now increasing the readiness and preparedness of our forces," Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.
"We are responding by making sure that NATO also in the future is an alliance which provides deterrence and protection for all allies against any threat," Stoltenberg said.
Putin, who spoke on the same day at the opening ceremony of the Army-2015 Expo, an international military technology exhibition, said Moscow attached importance to the development of military forces.
"This year 40 new intercontinental ballistic missiles, able to exceed any air defense system, will be added to the nuclear inventory," he said.
The Russian army’s weapons are being renewed in a scheduled program and by 2020 at least 70 percent of the army will be using new generation weapons, Putin said.
He added that a new radar system controlling "the western strategic area" would be tested in the upcoming months and a similar system would be established for operations in the east.
