“If necessary,” his country will not only adopt nuclear weapons, “but also super-nuclear weapons, promising weapons” to “defend our territory,” Lukashenko said on Thursday, according to the Belarusian news agency Belta.
Lukashenko spoke against the background of tensions between western states and Russia, which is an ally of Belarus, in the Ukraine crisis. Minsk and Moscow started joint military exercises in Belarus last week, which are expected to last until February 20.
Belarus rejects Russian military bases in their own country, said Lukashenko during a visit to the joint military maneuvers with Russia. There is no need for Russian military bases because in an emergency the Russian army will come to the neighboring country to provide support, Lukashenko said. According to the Interfax agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made it clear that there was “no talk” of a permanent military presence in Belarus.
In the West, there are fears that Russia is preparing an invasion of Ukraine as part of the maneuvers in Belarus. The military leaders in Belarus and Russia, on the other hand, repeatedly emphasize that the troop deployment is purely for training purposes, does not pose a threat to anyone and is in accordance with international law. Russia’s Defense Ministry has already announced a partial withdrawal of soldiers from other maneuvers and has published photos and videos. The West doubts these reports.
The exercise in southern Belarus on the border with Ukraine is scheduled to end on Sunday. Lukashenko will travel to Moscow on Friday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has pledged that its own soldiers involved in the exercise should return to their bases in Russia after the exercise is over. Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makej also said on Wednesday: “Not a single Russian soldier will remain in Belarus after these exercises.”
Source: Nachrichten
