The Atlantic alliance on Sunday described Russia’s nuclear rhetoric as “dangerous and irresponsible” after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the installation 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 change in Russia’s nuclear posture” 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 on Saturday in an interview broadcast on television.
“We decided to do the same,” he added, noting that he had the Minsk agreement.
“From April 3, we 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,” the Russian leader said.
For Putin, this decision was motivated by London’s desire to send depleted uranium ammunition to Ukraine, as an official British source recently announced.
The Russian president has also threatened to use this type of ammunition if kyiv receives it.
“Russia, of course, must respond. We have, without exaggeration, hundreds of thousands of these bombs. But we are not using them at the moment,” Putin concluded.
“Russia’s reference to the NATO nuclear exchange is totally misleading. NATO allies act in full compliance with their international commitments. Russia has consistently violated its arms control commitments, and recently suspended its participation in the New START Treaty “said the NATO spokeswoman.
Moscow “must once again respect 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: TSF
