May 28 (Reuters) – Western nations left Belarus no choice but to deploy Russian tactical nuclear weapons and had higher take heed not to “cross red lines” on key strategic points, a senior Belarusian official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Alexander Volfovich, state secretary of Belarus’ Security Council, stated it was logical that the weapons had been withdrawn after the 1991 Soviet collapse because the United States had offered safety ensures and imposed no sanctions.
“Today, everything has been torn down. All the promises made are gone forever,” the Belta information company quoted Volfovich as telling an interviewer on state tv.
Belarus, led by President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, is Russia’s staunchest ally amongst ex-Soviet states and allowed its territory to be used to launch the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia moved forward final week with a call to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory geared toward reaching particular positive factors on the battlefield.
Russia says its “special military operation” in Ukraine was geared toward countering what it says is a drive by the “collective west” to wage a proxy struggle and inflict a defeat on Moscow.
“The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus is therefore one of the steps of strategic deterrence. If there remains any reason in the heads of Western politicians, of course, they will not cross this red line,” Volfovich stated.
He stated any resort to utilizing “even tactical nuclear weapons will lead to irreversible consequences.”
Lukashenko final week stated the weapons had been already on the transfer, but it isn’t but clear when they are going to be in place.
The United States has denounced the potential deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus but says its stance on using such weapons has not been altered.
Western sanctions had been imposed on Belarus lengthy earlier than the invasion in reference to Lukashenko’s clampdown on human rights, notably the repression of mass protests towards what his opponents stated was his rigged re-election in 2020.
After independence from Soviet rule, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan agreed to their weapons being eliminated and returned to Russia as a part of worldwide efforts to include proliferation.
Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Mark Porter
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