Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin’s staunchest ally in its war in Ukraine, said on Friday (Jun 30) he was certain Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed in his country would never be used.
Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have acknowledged that some tactical weapons have arrived in Belarus and the remainder would be put in place by the end of the year.
The Belarusian president, in an address marking his ex-Soviet state’s national day, said the stationing of the weapons in Belarus was “my firmest initiative”.
“As we move along, we become more and more convinced that they (the weapons) must be stationed here, in Belarus, in a reliable place,” Lukashenko told a gathering in a large hall in an online broadcast by the state BelTA news agency, with many present waving red and green national flags.
“I am certain that we will never have to use them while they are here. And no enemy will ever set foot on our land.”
Lukashenko, like Russia, has repeatedly accused Western countries of trying to destroy his state and says the nuclear deployment is necessary to deter potential aggressors.
He said this month that some arms were in Belarus and at one point suggested he would not hesitate to use them if necessary, while adding that consultations with Russia would be needed.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday the deployment did not violate the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 as Russia retained control over the weapons. He told Russia’s Tass news agency the deployment had been “forced” on Russia.
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