The Eastern European country known as Belarus announced on Friday the 19th that it had adopted a new military doctrine that, if adopted, could mark the beginning of the deployment of nuclear weapons across the country. According to Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin, the measure is a preventive strategy against possible armed aggression against the republic, and he says the country was “forced” to make this decision.
Belarus' position towards the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the State of the Union
The new military doctrine will contain a separate chapter describing the course of action in the event of armed aggression against its allies in the CSTO and the state of the nation. The CSTO is similar to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). ), consists of Russia and six other postSoviet states and obliges its members to support each other in the event of an attack.
Two of these states are Russia and Belarus, which are also signatories to the Union State Treaty, which creates the legal basis for a comprehensive alliance between the two. Khrenin emphasized that despite the new doctrine, Belarus does not consider any nation an enemy, regardless of its political actions.
The role of Belarus in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine
Belarus played a prominent role in Russia's war against Ukraine. In June last year, Russian nuclear warheads were allegedly delivered to Belarus as a “deterrent,” Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed. In addition, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned that he would respond immediately to any provocation, especially from NATO, even if he was not directly involved in the war.
The reaction of the Baltic states
Given the current situation, the Baltic states have decided to strengthen their borders with Belarus and Russia. There are fears that Russia, an ally of Belarus, could potentially isolate the Baltic states from its NATO allies. To prevent this scenario, it was agreed to strengthen border defenses with the installation of “antimobility defense systems”.
This article was originally created in the International category.