Moscow, Nov 26: A senior Russian military official voiced strong concern today about US plans to develop low-yield nuclear weapons, saying that Moscow might be forced to review its own nuclear doctrine. Col. General Yuri Baluyevsky, the first deputy chief of staff of the Russian General Staff, told reporters that the Pentagon's plans to develop such weapons would be destabilizing.

“we are witnessing that nuclear weapons, which have served as a political deterrent, are being transformed into a battlefield instrument,” Baluyevsky said. “It's very scary, extremely scary.”

A defence bill signed by President George W. Bush lifts a decade-old ban on research into low-yield nuclear weapons and authorizes USD 15 million for continued research into a powerful nuclear weapon capable of destroying deep underground bunkers. “That causes US concern,” Baluyevsky said. “Should we somehow review our nuclear strategy? Yes, I believe we should.”
He wouldn't say whether Russia would work to develop similar weapons, but said that it would hold onto its stockpiles of tactical nuclear weapons.
Baluyevsky said Russia was concerned about the United States maintaining its tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, from where it could be used against targets in Russia.
Bureau Report