(Reuters) – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin’s staunchest ally in its war in Ukraine, said on Friday he was certain Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed in his country would never be used.
Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have acknowledged that some tactical weapons have arrived in Belarus and the rest will be in place by the end of the year.
The Belarusian president, in a speech marking the national day of his former Soviet state, said stationing arms in Belarus was “my strongest initiative”.
“As we move forward, we become more and more convinced that they (weapons) should be stationed here in Belarus in a reliable place,” Lukashenko told a rally in a large hall. during an online broadcast by state news agency BelTA. , with many in attendance waving red and green national flags.
“I’m sure we’ll never have to use them while they’re here. And no enemy will ever set foot on our lands.”
Lukashenko, like Russia, has repeatedly accused Western countries of trying to destroy his state and says nuclear deployment is necessary to deter would-be aggressors.
He said this month that some weapons were in Belarus and at one point suggested he would not hesitate to use them if necessary, while adding that consultations with Russia would be needed.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Friday the deployment did not violate the 1968 nuclear non-proliferation treaty, with Russia retaining arms control. He told Russia’s Tass news agency that the deployment was “forced” on Russia.
Lukashenko allowed Putin to launch part of the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine from Belarus and backed the war by brokering a deal last week to allow mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters to move operations in his country.
The head of neighboring Poland’s National Security Office, Jacek Siewiera, said Wagner fighters transferred to Belarus could use migrants from Africa and other countries to destabilize central and eastern Europe.
Siewiera’s comments to the Financial Times referred to clashes at the Belarusian border in 2021 when migrants tried to make their way into Poland, which Lukashenko accused of encouraging them to come to the country.
In power since 1994, he has also relied on Putin’s support since he used security forces to crush demonstrations by protesters alleging he rigged his last re-election in 2020.
In his remarks, he said the same Belarusian opposition politicians, now mostly in exile, who denounced the deployment of weapons also criticized the construction of a Russian-built nuclear power plant currently operating in Belarus.
“I’ve said it before…if you don’t know what to do in this or that situation and your enemies are screaming and making a fuss, just do the opposite,” he told the rally. “If they’re shouting nuclear weapons are bad, just do the opposite.”
(Reporting by Ronald Popeski; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)