NATO chief slams "dangerous" Russian nuclear "sabre rattling"

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg accused Russia of nuclear "sabre rattling" after it announced an increase in its missile arsenal on Tuesday and he warned that it was "destabilising and dangerous". At a news briefing in Brussels, Stoltenberg said such rhetoric from Moscow explained the Western alliance's increased preparedness on the part of its forces to defend its members. "This nuclear sabre-rattling of Russia is unjustified," he said. "It's destabilising and it's dangerous. This is something which we are addressing, and it’s also one of the reasons we are now increasing the readiness and preparedness of our forces. "We are responding by making sure that NATO also in the future is an alliance which provides deterrence and protection for all allies against any threat." (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald and Alexander Saeedy; Editing by Foo Yun Chee)