Russia will deploy "tactical" nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday (March 25th).
"There's nothing unusual here: the U.S. has been doing this for decades. They have long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies," Putin said in an interview broadcast on Russian television.
"We agreed to do the same," he added, saying he had the Minsk agreement.
"We have already helped our Belarusian colleagues and equipped their aircraft (...) without violating our international commitments on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ten aircraft are ready to use this type of weapon," Putin said.
"From April 3, we start training crews. And on July 1, we will complete the construction of a special warehouse for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus," he added.
According to Vladimir Putin, this decision was motivated by London's desire to send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, as recently mentioned by a British official.
Vladimir Putin has threatened to use this type of shell if Kiev were to receive them.
"Russia, of course, has something to answer. We have, without exaggeration, hundreds of thousands of such shells. We are not using them at the moment," the Russian president said.
With AFP
The summary of the week France 24 invites you to look back on the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news with you everywhere! Download the France 24 app