WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US military intelligence does not support open source US media reports alleging Russian movement of tactical nuclear weapons into Crimea, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey told US Congress on Wednesday.
“I saw the report, but I haven’t seen it reflected in the intelligence,” Dempsey said when asked to confirm reports of Russian nuclear weapons being moved to Crimea.
Dempsey added that if such reports were supported by military intelligence, “I would have suggested we had this conversation in a closed setting.”
Moreover, Dempsey informed members of the US House Armed Services Committee that he is having conversations with his Russian counterparts to “counsel them not to roll back the clock to previous experiences,” referring to the placement of nuclear weapons in Crimea.
In the past week, Russian Defense and Foreign Ministry officials have publicly stated that Russia maintains the right to deploy nuclear weapons in Crimea, which rejoined the Russian Federation in 2014 after a popular referendum.
