The United States reacted cautiously to Russia’s decision to place nuclear weapons in Belarus.
On Saturday, a Russian news agency reported that Vladimir Putin had signed an agreement to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
Ten aircraft capable of carrying the armaments – which are designed for use on the battlefield, rather than wiping out cities – are said to have already been moved there.
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It is the first time since the mid-1990s that Russia has based such weapons outside the country.
But a senior US administration official told Reuters news agency there were no signs that Moscow planned to use the weapons.
“We have seen no reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture or any indication that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.
“We remain committed to the collective defense of the NATO alliance. »
A top security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that the move will destabilize Belarus.
“The Kremlin has taken Belarus as a nuclear hostage,” Oleksiy Danilov, the head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, wrote on Twitter.
“No violation” of the nuclear treaty
Mr Putin claimed the decision would not violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements because the United States already has such weapons stationed in Europe, according to Russian news agency Tass.
This is a reference to an international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons – keeping them out of the hands of countries that do not already possess them.
But Mr Putin said the weapons that will be stationed in Belarus – which does not have nuclear weapons – would remain under Russian control.
“There’s nothing unusual here either: first, the United States has been doing it for decades. They have long been deploying their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries,” Putin told state television.
“We have agreed that we will do the same – without violating our obligations, I emphasize, without violating our international obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. »
According to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the United States has about 100 nuclear warheads at air bases on the continent, including in Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey.
Russia’s dependence on Belarus
Tensions rose over the war in Ukraine after massive Western arms shipments to Kyiv and Moscow changed its rhetoric on its military operation from “demilitarising” its neighbor to fighting “the collective West”. ” over there.
This latest deal is another sign of the Kremlin’s reliance on Belarus as an ally during the war in Ukraine.
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Mr. Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have both visited each other in their respective capitals.
Belarus also helped train Russian troops, treated the wounded, and provided supplies. The regime has also let Russia use its territory to launch ground and air attacks.
