NATO's Rutte says nuclear drills showed alliance has strong deterrent

BERLIN (Reuters) -NATO chief Mark Rutte said the success earlier this month of the military alliance's annual nuclear exercise gave him "absolute confidence in the credibility of NATO's nuclear deterrence" in the face of Russian threats.

"When Russia is using dangerous and reckless nuclear rhetoric, our populations must know that there is no need to panic, because NATO has a strong nuclear deterrent," he was quoted as saying by German weekly Welt am Sonntag.

"And (Russian President Vladimir) Putin must know that nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought.”

Putin has repeatedly warned the West of potential nuclear consequences since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

He declared last month that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles, and that Moscow would consider any assault on it supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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