Russia began sending nuclear weapons to its ally Belarus

2023-06-16 20:50:00

Photo: AFP file.

Russia has already made a first shipment of tactical nuclear weapons to its ally Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, who clarified that “he sees no need to use them” for the moment, in the context of geopolitical tensions over the war in Ukraine.

“This happened. The first nuclear charges were sent to the territory of Belarus (…) By the end of the summer, by the end of the year, we will complete this work in its entirety.”said the leader of the Kremlin during the International Economic Forum that takes place this Friday in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg.

“Nuclear weapons were created to guarantee our security in the greatest sense, but talking about this already reduces the possibility that they will not be used”Vladimir Putin

Despite this move, Putin maintained that does not wish to resort to this type of weaponrysomething that he described as “negative”, and clarified that it is a resource that will only be used in case of “threat to the integrity, independence, sovereignty and existence of the Russian State”.

“Nuclear weapons were created to guarantee our security in the greatest sense, but talking about this already reduces the possibility that they will not be used,” he clarified before emphasizing that “this need does not exist,” according to information reproduced by Interfax news agency.

Photo: File.

Putin further indicated that Russia “will not reduce its arsenal of nuclear weapons“and stressed that Moscow “has more weapons than the NATO countries“.

“They know it and all the time they try to persuade us to negotiate and achieve a reduction,” said the president, according to the Europa Press news agency.

“Moscow has more weapons than NATO countries”Vladimir Putin

The nuclear disarmament of Belarus was carried out from 1992 to 1996, and within the framework of the process, a large number of weapons were destroyed, while the rest were sent to Russia.

On March 25, Putin announced that Moscow and Minsk agreed to the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, without violating international commitments.

According to the Russian leader, This is not a transfer of nuclear weapons to Belarus, which would be in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but of its locationreported the Sputnik news agency.

“God forbid that I have to make the decision to use these weapons in modern times. But we will not hesitate if there is an aggression against us” Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus

The president of Belarus and one of Putin’s greatest allies, Alexander Lukashenko, warned last Tuesday that he “will not hesitate” to make use of the nuclear weapons that Russia deploys in his country in response to a possible aggression.

“God forbid that they have to make the decision to use these weapons in modern times. But we will not hesitate if there is an attack against us,” he asserted.

“The response will be immediate. I have already said it several times before,” said Lukashenko, who, however, is confident that there is no one who “wants to fight against a country that has such a weapon.”