There is a risk of “catastrophic humanitarian consequences”, warns international organization
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday (25.Mar.2023) that he will deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus. The measure is a warning to NATO countries (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), which provide military support to Ukraine.
Speaking on state TV, Putin compared his plans with measures taken by the US. “There’s nothing new here: the US has been doing this for decades. They have their tactical nukes long positioned in their allies’ territory.“, he said.
“They have allies in certain countries and train their crews. We are going to do the same”, he completed.
The Russian leader did not say when the weapons would be sent to the allied country or where they would be positioned. He only said that the construction of a storage facility will be completed by July 1st.
Contrary to the announcement, Putin emphasized that Moscow will not violate its international obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
At the twitter, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has warned of the risks of Putin’s initiative. “Against the background of the war in Ukraine, the probability of miscalculation or misinterpretation is extremely high. Sharing nuclear weapons makes the situation much worse and risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences.”, he wrote on Saturday (25.mar).
RUSSIA-BELARUS PARTNERSHIP
Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. Part of the troops from Moscow entered the country attacked by Belarus, which also borders NATO members –Poland, Lithuania and Latvia– and Russia itself.
So far, despite the close military relationship between the allies, Belorussian troops have not formally fought in Ukraine.
In June 2022, on a visit to Minsk, Putin had already told his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, that he would supply missile systems to transport nuclear weapons to the country.
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