February 1, Pozirk. Russia is not planning to deploy its nuclear weapons in foreign countries other than Belarus, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said at a press conference.
“The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in the territory of Belarus was in the framework of countering the increasingly aggressive and increasingly threatening activities of the North Atlantic Alliance led by the United States, the alliance’s line toward Russia’s strategic defeat, the expansion of NATO’s joint nuclear missions and many other things. Our joint decision with Minsk to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus owes to the line of the collective West. The difference between us and NATO is huge, as we demonstrate maximum responsibility,” Ryabkov said, as quoted by TASS.
According to him, Moscow and Minsk are taking these actions “in the framework of one Union State with a common security space.” At the same time, NATO’s joint nuclear missions are conducted in countries that “declared themselves non-nuclear in the sense of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Russian deputy foreign minister claimed.
Before the December 25 meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St Petersburg, Alaksandar Łukašenka said that tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) had long been delivered from Russia to Belarus, with the “last delivery” in early October. “Everything is in its place, in good condition,” he said.
Russia retains control over the arsenal, the Russian foreign ministry said on December 15.
At the same time, Łukašenka has repeatedly stated that he can manage Russian TNWs on his own. In particular, in an interview with pro-Russian Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko in August 2023, he threatened to “instantly use” nuclear weapons in case of aggression, which he said could be carried out by NATO and Ukraine.
