Exclusive-NATO chief says Putin's Ukraine escalation 'dangerous and reckless'

FILE PHOTO: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference at a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin's mobilization of thousands of extra troops for the war in Ukraine will escalate the conflict and his threat to use nuclear weapons was "dangerous and reckless rhetoric," NATO's secretary general said on Wednesday.

Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters Editor in Chief Alessandra Galloni in an interview that Russia's first mobilization since World War Two was not a surprise but that it would escalate the conflict that began with the Russian invasion on Feb. 24.