Russia has said it will not change plans to deploy “tactical” nuclear weapons in Belarus, despite criticism from Western countries.
“Such a response will not affect Russia’s plans,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
President Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday that preparations to install the weapons in Belarus could begin next month, “without violating international nuclear non-proliferation agreements”.
“The United States has been doing this for decades. It has long placed its tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of its allies,” the Kremlin leader justified.
Putin said he took the initiative by approving Belarus, a country that borders Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, is a member of NATO and the EU, and has been ruled since 1994 by Alexander Lukashenko, the country’s closest ally. Kremlin.
The announcement was heavily criticized by Western powers. NATO on Sunday attacked Moscow’s “dangerous and irresponsible” rhetoric. The EU has threatened Minsk with new sanctions if the weapons are deployed in the country.
Ukraine on Sunday called for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to end what it called Russian “nuclear blackmail”.
In February 2022, Belarus allowed Russian forces to use its territory to launch the offensive in Ukraine.
Putin motivated his decision on Saturday by pointing to the United Kingdom’s intention to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium munitions.
At the end of February, the EU announced the extension of its sanctions against Belarus for a year due to the repression of President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime and his support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Under these sanctions, Lukashenko and 194 other regime figures were banned from entering the EU and their assets were frozen.
In addition, 34 entities from Belarus have been sanctioned and all European funding has been banned.
Belarus is also subject to specific economic sanctions, including restrictions on the financial sector, trade, dual-use goods, telecommunications, energy and transport.
Source: DN
