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Belarus

Deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus not time-limited – senior Russian diplomat

cde.news desk · 1 min read
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epa09775878 A handout still image taken from handout video made available by the Russian Defence ministry press-service shows Russian and Belarusian National flags during the joint operational exercise of the armed forces of Belarus and Russia 'Union Courage-2022' at a firing range in Brest region of Belarus, 21 February 2022. The joint exercises of the military forces 'Union Courage-2022' of Russia and Belarus are held from 10 till 20 February. As specified in the Russian Ministry of Defense, the purpose of these exercises is to work out the tasks of 'stopping and repelling external aggression' during a defensive operation, as well as 'countering terrorism and protecting the interests of the Union State'. In Belarus, the holding of joint exercises was called a response to the 'continuing militarization' of European countries. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko allowed the recognition of the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) by Minsk. EPA-EFE/RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

MOSCOW, June 19 (Reuters) – Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is not time-limited, state news agency TASS quoted a senior Russian diplomat on Monday as saying.

Russia announced in March that it was deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, a close ally that has provided support for Moscow’s attack on Ukraine. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said the weapons began arriving last month.

The deployment is Moscow’s first move of such warheads – shorter-range less powerful nuclear weapons that could potentially be used on the battlefield – outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.

“As for the possible time frame for the presence of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, the Russian-Belarusian agreements do not imply any restrictions in this regard,” TASS cited Alexei Polishchuk, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s department of former Soviet states, as saying in an interview.

Polishchuk said the weapons could hypothetically be removed from Belarus if the United States and NATO “refrained from undermining the security and sovereignty of Russia and Belarus”.

Filed under BelarusRussia
Topics Alexei PolishchukBelarusRussia

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