Biden warns of NATO response should Russia use chemical weapons
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
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.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
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.
"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."
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
The ‘ravenous’ demand for Cornish mineralsUnder the Radar Growing need for critical minerals to power tech has intensified ‘appetite’ for lithium, which could be a ‘huge boon’ for local economy
-
Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
-
‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Munich Security Conference: a showdown between Europe and Trump?Today’s Big Question Report suggests European leaders believe they can no longer rely on the US for military support – but decoupling is easier said than done
-
What is ‘Arctic Sentry’ and will it deter Russia and China?Today’s Big Question Nato considers joint operation and intelligence sharing in Arctic region, in face of Trump’s threats to seize Greenland for ‘protection’
-
What would a UK deployment to Ukraine look like?Today's Big Question Security agreement commits British and French forces in event of ceasefire
-
Would Europe defend Greenland from US aggression?Today’s Big Question ‘Mildness’ of EU pushback against Trump provocation ‘illustrates the bind Europe finds itself in’
-
Did Trump just end the US-Europe alliance?Today's Big Question New US national security policy drops ‘grenade’ on Europe and should serve as ‘the mother of all wake-up calls’
-
Is conscription the answer to Europe’s security woes?Today's Big Question How best to boost troop numbers to deal with Russian threat is ‘prompting fierce and soul-searching debates’
-
The Baltic ‘bog belt’ plan to protect Europe from RussiaUnder the Radar Reviving lost wetland on Nato’s eastern flank would fuse ‘two European priorities that increasingly compete for attention and funding: defence and climate’
-
How should Nato respond to Putin’s incursions?Today’s big question Russia has breached Nato airspace regularly this month, and nations are primed to respond
