The Belarusian government has justified the need to strengthen its defensive capabilities in view of »legitimate security concerns» and has dismissed as »exaggerated» international reactions to the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons, announced on Saturday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that »over the past two and a half years,» since the disputed August 2020 elections that revalidated Alexander Lukashenko’s mandate amid suspicions of fraud, the country has been the victim of »unprecedented» political and economic pressure for which it blames NATO and EU countries.
It considers itself the target of »direct and serious» interference in purely internal affairs with the aim of changing the political regime in Minsk, while NATO countries bordering Belarus »build up» military capabilities.
It is in this context that the Lukashenko government frames the latest agreement with Russia for the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, which it does not consider »anything new». It has argued that collaboration in this field with Moscow does not in any case imply a violation of international commitments, in line with the thesis also defended by the Russian authorities in recent days.
»More than 150 U.S. tactical nuclear weapons are stored in European NATO member countries and more than 250 aircraft have been prepared for their possible use,» the Belarusian Foreign Ministry warned, criticizing the West’s alleged double standards in assessing the strengthened alliance between Putin and Lukashenko.
For this reason, it has called on all sides to move from confrontational rhetoric to »constructive» and »mutually respectful» dialogue that can ensure the security not only of the region, but also of the whole world.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
