Nausėda: NATO should pay special attention to threats posed by Belarus

June 1, BPN. NATO countries should reinforce the eastern flank as Baltic region security is deteriorating, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told reporters before the European Political Community Summit in Chișinău, Moldova, on June 1.

Delfi quoted him as saying that NATO should “pay special attention to this issue and the threats coming from Russia’s ally Minsk.”

“The situation is very serious and, unfortunately, is getting worse,” Nausėda said. “Especially knowing that Belarus is actively involved in the conflict and fully available even for the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons.”

In his opinion, the Baltic states “are in a very dangerous situation.” That is why NATO’s goal is “to cope with these challenges as soon as possible.”

The Lithuanian president said it is necessary to discuss the deployment of air defense systems when strengthening the eastern flank of NATO: “Lithuania shows initiative and offers to consider the deployment of rotating air defense systems in the region.”

On May 25 in Minsk, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktar Chrenin and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu signed the terms of operation of a storage facility for Russian non-strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus. Shoigu said that Moscow alone would control the weapons and decide on their use.

On the same day, Alaksandr Łukašenka said that the transfer of Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus had already begun.

Opposition leader Śviatłana Cichanoŭskaja said Russia might use the deployment as a bargaining chip and a pretext for aggression. The opposition’s National Anti-Crisis Management called on the European Union and the United States to “apply powerful synchronized actions” in response to the transfer.

The 2nd European Political Community Summit is attended by 27 heads of state of the EU and 20 leaders of other European countries. In 2022, the first such summit was held in Prague.

The European Political Community is an intergovernmental forum established for political and strategic discussions of the future of Europe on the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron last year.