Belarus official: West forced nuclear deployment. A senior Belarusian official said, Western countries forced Belarus to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons and warned against “crossing red lines” on strategic matters.
After the 1991 Soviet collapse, Belarus’ Security Council state secretary Alexander Volfovich argued it was logical to remove the weapons because the US had provided security guarantees and levied no penalties.
Everything was demolished today. “All promises are gone forever,” Volfovich told a state television interviewer, according to Belta.
Belarus, led by President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, is Russia’s closest ex-Soviet ally and permitted the Kremlin to invade Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia deployed tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil last week to achieve military advantages.
Russia says its “special military operation” in Ukraine was to stop the “collective west” from waging a proxy war and defeating Moscow.
Thus, strategic deterrence requires Belarus to deploy tactical nuclear weapons. “If Western politicians have any sense, they will not cross this red line,” Volfovich added.
He warned, “even tactical nuclear weapons will have irreversible consequences.”
Last week, Lukashenko indicated the weapons were moving, but it’s unclear when they’ll arrive.
The US has condemned the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus but maintains its opposition to their use.
Before the invasion, Western sanctions were imposed on Belarus for Lukashenko’s human rights abuses, including the repression of major protests against his 2020 reelection, which his opponents said was rigged.
Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan agreed to have their weapons withdrawn and returned to Russia as part of international proliferation measures after independence.
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