٠٠:٠٤:٣٣Belarus: Deployment of tactical nuclear weapons is effective response to foreign aggression - Belarusian DefMin
Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin claimed the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on his country’s territory could be an effective response to the 'aggressive' policies of unfriendly states, during a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in Minsk on Thursday.
"Due to non-observance of the security guarantees given to the Republic of Belarus and embedded in the Budapest Memorandum of December 5, 1994, as well as the incessant belligerent rhetoric, supported by practical actions against the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation by the states of the collective West, the leaders of our states ordered the organisation of work aimed at the deployment of non-strategic (tactical) nuclear weapons of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Republic of Belarus," Khrenin said.
"This will be an effective response to the aggressive policy of countries unfriendly to us and, we hope, will make their leaders think about the inadmissibility of further escalation of the situation in the region," he concluded.
Back in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an agreement with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the country.
Putin claimed the move, similar to what he said the US had been doing 'for decades’ would not violate international obligations, while Washington accused Russia of 'irresponsible rhetoric'.
At the bilateral talks, Shoigu stressed that by providing military assistance to Ukraine, the West was prolonging the armed conflict and doing 'everything possible' to escalate it.
"The West is forcing the Kiev regime, regardless of its losses, to demonstrate tactical successes and readiness to fight to the last Ukrainian, pumping it with weapons. Military technical assistance to Kiev has already exceeded 65 billion US dollars," he noted.
Shoigu and Khrenin also signed documents defining the procedure for maintaining Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in a special storage facility in Belarus.
The meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Council of Defence Ministers, chaired by Viktor Khrenin, was also held in Minsk. The representatives discussed the challenges and threats to military security in the region, as well as improving the crisis response system.
On Monday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell reported that countries had given Ukraine 10 billion euros in military support through the European Peace Facility. NATO countries have delivered 65 billion euros in military assistance, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
٠٠:٠٤:٣٣Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin claimed the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on his country’s territory could be an effective response to the 'aggressive' policies of unfriendly states, during a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in Minsk on Thursday.
"Due to non-observance of the security guarantees given to the Republic of Belarus and embedded in the Budapest Memorandum of December 5, 1994, as well as the incessant belligerent rhetoric, supported by practical actions against the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation by the states of the collective West, the leaders of our states ordered the organisation of work aimed at the deployment of non-strategic (tactical) nuclear weapons of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Republic of Belarus," Khrenin said.
"This will be an effective response to the aggressive policy of countries unfriendly to us and, we hope, will make their leaders think about the inadmissibility of further escalation of the situation in the region," he concluded.
Back in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an agreement with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in the country.
Putin claimed the move, similar to what he said the US had been doing 'for decades’ would not violate international obligations, while Washington accused Russia of 'irresponsible rhetoric'.
At the bilateral talks, Shoigu stressed that by providing military assistance to Ukraine, the West was prolonging the armed conflict and doing 'everything possible' to escalate it.
"The West is forcing the Kiev regime, regardless of its losses, to demonstrate tactical successes and readiness to fight to the last Ukrainian, pumping it with weapons. Military technical assistance to Kiev has already exceeded 65 billion US dollars," he noted.
Shoigu and Khrenin also signed documents defining the procedure for maintaining Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in a special storage facility in Belarus.
The meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) Council of Defence Ministers, chaired by Viktor Khrenin, was also held in Minsk. The representatives discussed the challenges and threats to military security in the region, as well as improving the crisis response system.
On Monday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell reported that countries had given Ukraine 10 billion euros in military support through the European Peace Facility. NATO countries have delivered 65 billion euros in military assistance, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.