Łukašenka: We will manage nuclear weapons deployed in Belarus

March 31, BPN. There is no public discussion of the use of nuclear weapons that would be deployed in Belarus because the topic is absolutely confidential, Alaksandr Łukašenka said in his annual address to the nation and parliament on March 31.

“Everything will be in line with law and regulations,” he said. “There will be no uncontrolled weapons or other things in Belarus, and cannot be. Everything there is in Belarus will be managed by us here.”

He went on to say that although nuclear weapons “have not been deployed in Belarus so far, everyone started whining.”

“Why are you whining?” Łukašenka said. “Why weren’t you whining when the Amercians were imposing sanctions on us? On my instruction, the late [Foreign Minister Uładzimir] Makiej… I told him to remind them of their breach of the Budapest Memorandum. We’ve reminded them. But they don’t care! So, why whine now? Hosting these weapons doesn’t mean we want to go to war with the USA. ”

He also commented on the prospects for stationing Russian nuclear weapons in the Caribbean by saying that “it is unnecessary but is not a problem.”

“Placing them in Cuba, Nicaragua, or other friendly countries… I once asked my older brother [Vladimir Putin] about it. I said, what are your thoughts? He said, is it a problem? Our submarines and aircraft carrying nuclear warheads have duty routes. I think international waters stretch for 12 miles off the coast. Missiles are launched from below the surface. […] There are very advanced submarines that cannot be spotted by NATO regardless of the parameters,” Łukašenka said.

“For example, two submarines armed with nuclear weapons come close to a facility, and all issues are solved,” he added. The Belarusian ruler said he was very impressed by Russian nuclear arms (“although I’m not easily impressed”).

On March 28, a spokesperson for the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Russia’s plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons will enhance Belarus’ security and defense capabilities.

The move is in response to “unprecedented political, economic and informational pressure” from the United States, United Kingdom and their NATO allies, Anatol Hłaz said.

He described Western sanctions along with a military buildup in the neighboring NATO states as interference in the internal affairs of Belarus in violation of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum that provides security assurances relating to the country’s accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

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 NPT because Minsk will have no access to the nuclear arsenal, he said.