Warsaw – NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday that reducing nuclear arsenals had to be carried out in a balanced manner, but that atomic weapons were still needed for deterrence reasons. At an international conference in Warsaw, he outlined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s new strategy aims in which the alliance’s main task remained defending the territory and people of the member countries.

“Nuclear weapons will remain a major element of credible deterrence in the future,” Rasmussen said.

“A world without atomic weapons would be wonderful, but as long as states and non-state structures exist which aim to gain atomic weapons, then we should also maintain our nuclear capacities,” he added.

Any reduction in nuclear arsenals should be carried out in a “balanced manner,” the NATO boss argued.

Regarding NATO’s overall strategy aims, there was no contraction between its main task of defending the alliance’s member states with such new objectives such as fighting terrorism or setting up anti- missile defences, Rasmussen said.

Regarding Russia, the NATO boss said that “in principle” the Russians like any other European country could be invited to join the NATO alliance.

But he said this was not a realistic scenario because in his view Russia does not aim to seek membership. Instead, NATO and Russia should work to develop a strategic partnership.

NATO’s new defence strategy is to be approved by the alliance’s members next November.