The President of Belarus described the announced stationing of Russian nuclear weapons as a protective measure.
(Photo: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS)
Minsk Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko has also threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend his country in the conflict with the West. “We will ensure our sovereignty and independence by any means, including the nuclear arsenal,” Lukashenko said in his address to the nation on Friday. In addition to the tactical nuclear weapons already promised by Russia, Belarus also wants to agree with the Kremlin on the stationing of strategic nuclear weapons in an emergency. Tactical nuclear weapons have a significantly shorter range.
Lukashenko, 68, also claimed control of the tactical nuclear weapons in his more than three-hour speech to hundreds of officials and guests. He contradicted Russian statements, according to which the nuclear weapons in Belarus should only be stored. “These are our weapons that will enable our sovereignty and independence,” he said. He once again claimed that the West wanted to invade and destroy Belarus. Western states expanded their military capabilities in Poland on the border with Belarus.
Lukashenko stressed that the stationing of Russian soldiers in Belarus was his initiative. This is to ward off attacks from the west, he claimed. “We will stop at nothing if we protect our country,” threatened the ruler, who is no longer recognized as president by the EU.
The use of nuclear weapons is necessary when there is a threat of destruction in one’s own country, Lukashenko later specified in a discussion. “I try not to intimidate or blackmail anyone,” Lukashenko said. “I want to protect the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people.”
After voluntarily surrendering its nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus is now receiving nuclear missiles for the first time since the 1990s. In Belarus, Lukashenko, who is politically and economically dependent on Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, had called for these weapons to be stationed even before the war. He also had the constitution changed, which no longer stipulates a nuclear-weapon-free status. According to Putin, training on weapons in Belarus should begin this Monday, and the depots for the nuclear missiles should be completed by July 1st.
Lukashenko calls for a ceasefire
Lukashenko also called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and talks for a lasting peace solution. There should be no preconditions for a ceasefire. He warned Ukraine of the widely expected counter-offensive. This would make negotiations between the governments in Moscow and Kiev impossible.
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Russia reacted cautiously to Lukashenko’s call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. The call was noted, said Presidential Office spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Putin and Lukashenko would have the opportunity to talk about it in the coming week.
At the moment, however, Russia cannot achieve the goals of its “military special operation” in this way, said Peskov. This is how Russia describes its actions in Ukraine. The government in Kiev and its allies, on the other hand, speak of a war of aggression. Ukraine has in the past rejected offers from Belarus to negotiate peace, saying Russia continues to use Belarusian airspace for drone and missile strikes.
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