Łukašenka says Russia’s nuclear plans in Belarus to boost state security

March 31, BPN. The Russian plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is not intended to intimidate someone but to secure the Belarusian state, Alaksandr Łukašenka has said in his annual address to the nation and parliament on March 31.

“I have urgently intensified negotiations with Russian President [Vladimir] Putin on the return of nuclear weapons to Belarus, which had been withdrawn in the 1990s,” he said, noting regional military and political tensions.

Belarus gave up nuclear weapons under certain guarantees from the West, Łukašenka noted. “No sanctions against those who withdrew [nuclear weapons], no pressure, no planning attacks and revolutions,” he said, detailing the guarantees, and accused the Western partners breaking the agreement.

Łukašenka claimed the right to raise the issue of nuclear weapons return to Belarus, adding that back in the 1990s he had been under incredible pressure to give them up.

“I remember being subjected to severe pressure not only from the West but from the president of Russia [Boris Yeltsin] when I halted that withdrawal in 1994-95,” he said. “I said no! I will not withdraw. He said to me, ‘Well, you understand, they will crush and destroy [you], and you will not be able to maintain the strategic warheads.'”

“I am not trying to intimidate or blackmail someone, I want to secure the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people,” Łukašenka said. “We don’t want to live under the lash anymore and we will not be slaves!”

On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons would be completed in Belarus by July 1.

The West and Belarusian democratic forces denounced this plan, while China made some cautious comments.

The Belarusian foreign ministry said that additional training of Belarusian pilots and an upgrade of its military aircraft to carry nuclear munitions, as well as the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus do not violate the Non-Proliferation Nuclear Treaty (NPT) because Minsk will have no access to the nuclear arsenal.