Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday that Belarus – Belarus – would welcome Russian “tactical” nuclear weapons on its territory. La Dépêche du Midi takes stock.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he had signed the Minsk agreement to station “tactical” nuclear weapons in Belarus, a country on the doorstep of the European Union that has been led by Alexander Lukashenko, his closest ally, since 1994. While Belarus is not directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, Moscow used its territory to lead its offensive on Kiev last year.
deployment next month
“There is nothing unusual here: the United States has been doing this for decades. It has long deployed its tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its allies,” Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Russian television. “We agreed to do the same,” he added, saying he had Minsk’s approval.
“We have already helped our Belarusian colleagues and equipped their planes (…) without violating our international commitments on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ten planes are ready to use this type of weaponry,” Vladimir Putin continued.
“From April 3rd we will start training crews. And on July 1 we will complete the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” he added.
Respond to Western “pressure”.
According to Vladimir Putin, this decision was motivated by London’s desire to send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, as recently mentioned by a British official.
Belarus has confirmed the information. The country will welcome Russian “tactical” nuclear weapons in response to “unprecedented” Western “pressure,” Belarus’ foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Belarus is “forced to take countermeasures,” Belarusian diplomacy stressed, but assured that Minsk will not have control over these weapons and that their use “in no way contradicts Articles I and II of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”
Strong criticism from Westerners
The announcement drew strong criticism from the West, as NATO had denounced “dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric” by Russia, while the European Union threatened Minsk with new sanctions should the operation go ahead.
For its part, Ukraine on Sunday called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to counter what it calls “nuclear blackmail” by Russia.
“Of course, such a reaction cannot affect Russia’s plans,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
For his part, Joe Biden said on Tuesday his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin’s announcement about the deployment of “tactical” nuclear weapons in Belarus was “dangerous”. “These are dangerous words and it is worrying,” said the US President.