NATO slammed nuclear threats by Russia on Sunday, calling it “dangerous and irresponsible.” This comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed he would put tactical nuclear weapons on Belarus’s territory.
“NATO is vigilant, and we are closely monitoring the situation. We have not seen any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own,” reported Reuters quoting a spokesperson for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. “Russia’s reference to NATO’s nuclear sharing is totally misleading. NATO allies act with full respect for their international commitments. Russia has consistently broken its arms control commitments, most recently suspending its participation in the New START Treaty.”
Since the mid-1990s, Russia has not stationed such tactical nuclear weapons outside its own borders
Since the mid-1990s, Russia has not stationed such tactical nuclear weapons outside its own borders, making the agreement between Minsk and Moscow significant. “There is nothing unusual here either: the United States has been doing this for decades. They have long placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies,” Putin said while substantiating the agreement it reached with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, reported AFP.
Putin made it clear that his action does not violate the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is the cornerstone of international efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. “We agreed that we will do the same – without violating our obligations, I emphasize, without violating our international obligations on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.”
The United States and Ukraine both condemned Putin’s declaration
The United States and Ukraine both condemned Putin’s declaration. According to Reuters, a senior US administration official indicated that Moscow and Minsk discussed such an arrangement last year and that there were no indications that Russia sought to deploy its nuclear weapons. The senior security counselor to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky also denounced Russia’s plans to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. He claimed that such a move would destabilize Belarus. He claimed Russia had kidnapped Belarus.