Belarus ready to host Russian strategic nuclear weapons – president – ​​RT Russia and the former Soviet Union

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko raised the possibility of his country hosting Russia’s strategic nuclear weapons during an annual speech to parliament on Friday. His words came as Moscow announced its intention to deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

“I and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin can decide and deploy strategic nuclear weapons here, if necessary,” Lukashenko told lawmakers, adding that the move would show both nations’ willingness to defend their “sovereignty and independence”.

“We will stop at nothing to protect our nations, our states, our people,” the Belarusian leader said, adding that the move would likely serve as an effective deterrent against any hostile action by the United States and its allies. Belarusian President expressed hope that the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons in his country “Sober all the hawks across the pond for a long time.”

Lukashenko also said he had already ordered the military to restore facilities used to store Topol intercontinental ballistic missiles and served as potential launch sites in Soviet times. According to the President, Belarus has kept all the facilities, which he called “complex engineering structures.”

Russia currently uses Topol-M and Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles – upgraded versions of Soviet-made Topol missiles developed in the 1980s. The missiles could be silo-based or placed on mobile self-propelled wheeled platforms. Some of the mobile versions of the original Topol missiles were deployed in Belarus during the Soviet era.

The Belarusian president has previously and repeatedly advocated the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in his country, citing a threat posed by the West. In October 2022, he pointed out “nuclear sharing” talks between Washington and Warsaw, warning that nuclear weapons could be placed in Poland, which borders Belarus.

Last week. Putin announced the deployment of Russian tactical weapons to Belarus saying that a special storage facility for them would be ready by July 1. Moscow explained its decision by highlighting London’s plans to supply depleted uranium munitions to kyiv.

Russia blasted the UK’s decision as a sign of “absolute recklessness, irresponsibility and impunity” from London and Washington.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky linked Moscow’s decision to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus to certain allegations “chess” during a meeting between Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier in March.

“A signal that Russia is deploying its nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory would indicate that (Putin’s) meeting with the Chinese (leader) failed,” he added. Zelensky said during a press conference with the Moldovan president as well as the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovenia and Slovakia in Kyiv. He did not specify the particular way in which the two events are linked in his opinion.

Putin and Xi signed more than a dozen documents on increased cooperation in areas ranging from trade and industry to science and the military during the visit. Later, Moscow confirmed that the two countries were close to striking a mega-gas deal, while Beijing said it was aiming for closer defense cooperation with Moscow. The Pentagon also described Xi’s visit to Moscow as a “Very disturbing message.”