On Tuesday, Belarus said that it was forced to host Russian nuclear weapons due to “unprecedented” Western pressure, urging their deployment did not violate international agreements. At the weekend Russian President Vladimir Putin reported plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in the Moscow-allied country, drawing denunciation from the West.
The foreign ministry in Minsk said Belarus is forced to respond to heighten its own security and defense capability. It said Minsk had been subjected to “unprecedented” political and economic pressure from the United States and its allies.
Belarus said it would not have authority over the weapons and their deployment “in no way contradicts” the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Minsk permitted Russia to use its territory as a launchpad for Russia’s offensive against Ukraine last year. The two countries have since held military drills on Belarusian territory and increased cooperation between their militaries.
The foreign ministry said that military cooperation between Belarus and Russia is taken out in strict accordance with international law. Putin’s plans to place nuclear weapons on the European Union’s doorstep have activated calls for new sanctions against Russia.
With worries of a nuclear war increasing since Putin sent armies into Ukraine, experts consider that any Russian strike would probably involve “tactical” small-sized battleground weapons as opposed to “strategic” high-powered long-range nuclear weapons.
Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since 1994. The West has struck Minsk with numerous rounds of sanctions over its crackdown on political conflict and its role as a springboard for Moscow’s assault on Ukraine.
