Q: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that if Germany refuses to deploy NATO's nuclear weapons, they could be transfered to other European countries, including countries in the eastern part of Europe. Do you think that moving the nuclear arsenal closer to Russia's borders could have negative consequences from the standpoint of strategic stability?
A: As reiterated at the last NATO summit, the fundamental aim of NATO's nuclear capacity is to preserve peace, to prevent coercive actions and to discourage any form of aggression. NATO and Russia have undertaken commitments relative to the deployment of nuclear weapons under the NATO-Russia Founding Act.
We wish to continue ? first with the Allies within NATO and then with Russia ? a rigorous effort on arms control in order to deal with the consequences of its ongoing erosion and to guarantee Europe's strategic stability while preserving Europeans' security interests.