Germany condemns Belarus’ nuclear move

May 26, BPN. Germany has denounced Alaksandr Łukašenka’s statement about the imminent deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus.

The statement comes the day after the Belarusian ruler made it clear that the deployment had begun.

Government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner told reporters in Berlin that it was another nuclear threat by Russia, Abendzeitung München reported.

Büchner said that hosting nuclear arms will go contrary to Belarus’ non-nuclear commitments.

He also pointed out Russia’s previous opposition to extraterritorial nuclear deployments.

Minsk gave up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons and joined an international nonproliferation treaty in the 1990s.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in March that Russia was planning to deploy nuclear arms to Belarus, pointing to the United States having them in several allied countries.

May 25, Russian and Belarusian defense ministers signed the terms of nuclear ammunition storage in Belarus. The Russian minister, Sergei Shoigu, claimed that Moscow alone would control the weapons and decide on their use.