NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told NBC News on Sunday that if Russia uses chemical weapons in Ukraine, it would be a “blatant and brutal violation of international law,” but it may not be enough to elicit a response from NATO.

“Allies support Ukraine, but at the same time, it is extremely important that we prevent this conflict becoming a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia because that will cause much more damage, much more death, destruction than what we see now in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said. “Russia is a nuclear power. President Putin is now conveying very dangerous nuclear rhetoric. And therefore, we are supporting Ukraine, but at the same time significantly increasing the military presence with the troops on land, at sea, and in the air. Germany and the U.K. have doubled their presence in the Baltic countries, in their battle groups there. The U.S. has now 100,000 troops there in Europe. And there are tens of thousands of troops in the eastern part alliance to send a message that escalation beyond Ukraine will be met with a very firm response from the whole alliance. And by doing that, we are preventing a conflict, not provoking a conflict in Europe at the moment.”