NATO on Sunday classified Russia’s nuclear rhetoric as “dangerous and irresponsible” after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the deployment of “tactical” nuclear weapons on the territory of his ally Belarus.
“NATO is vigilant and we are closely monitoring the situation,” NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said, adding that the organization “has not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear stance” that would lead to an adjustment of its strategy.
Vladimir Putin justified the installation of nuclear weapons in Belarus with the installation of US weapons in Europe.
“There is nothing unusual here: the US has been doing this for decades. The US has been installing its tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its allies for a long time,” the Russian president said in a televised interview on Saturday.
“We decided to do the same,” he added, pointing out that he had Minsk’s agreement.
“From April 3, we will start training crews. And on July 1, we will complete the construction of a special depot for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus,” said the Russian leader.
For Putin, this decision was motivated by London’s desire to send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, as recently announced by an official British source.
The Russian president has also threatened to use this type of ammunition if Kiev receives it.
“Russia must of course respond. We have, no exaggeration, hundreds of thousands of these bombs. But we are not using them at the moment,” Putin concluded.
“Russia’s reference to NATO sharing nuclear weapons is utterly misleading. NATO allies are acting in full compliance with their international obligations. Russia has consistently violated its arms control commitments and has recently withdrawn its participation in the New START treaty suspended,” said the NATO spokeswoman.
Moscow “must re-commit to its commitments and act in good faith,” he added.
Russian officials have repeatedly made veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine if the conflict escalates significantly.
Belarus, led by Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, borders Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania.
Source: DN
