Biden warns of NATO response should Russia use chemical weapons

NATO would in fact respond should Russia use chemical weapons in Ukraine, President Biden warned during a press conference out of Brussels on Thursday, Axios reports.

Per The Washington Free Beacon's Chuck Ross, it was "the first time Biden has explicitly identified a red line."

The White House has previously brought up the possibility of Russia implementing a chemical or biological weapons attack in its war with Ukraine — earlier this month, Biden told reporters that Russia would pay a "severe price" should it conduct a chemical weapons assault.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

On Thursday, when asked if the U.S. had gathered information indicating Moscow was considering chemical warfare, Biden declined to comment specifically on intelligence but said, "We would respond if he uses it," alluding to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

See more

"The nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use," Biden added, per Axios.

When asked again later if the use of chemical weapons would generate a NATO response, Biden replied, "It would trigger a response in kind."

See more

The president also during the presser weighed the suggestion of removing Russia from the G20, and addressed the possibility of Trump winning the presidency in 2024.

See more
See more
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.