Belarus's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it had decided to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons after years of pressure from the United States and its allies aimed at changing its political and geopolitical orientation.
The Foreign Ministry justified its decision to cooperate with Russia by saying that Minsk is working to protect itself from the West, saying in a statement that "under these circumstances, legitimate concerns and the resulting risks to national security, Belarus finds itself compelled to respond by strengthening its security and defense capabilities."
Over the past two and a half years, it has come under unprecedented political, economic and media pressure from the United States, the United Kingdom and their NATO allies, as well as from EU member states.
International Conventions
Minsk noted that Russia's nuclear plans do not contradict international non-proliferation agreements, as Belarus itself will have no arms control.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday that Moscow would look in the future to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in its powerful ally and neighbor Belarus, escalating the confrontation with the West.
The Russian president said preparations for the deployment of these weapons would begin next month.
The announcement drew considerable criticism from Western countries, while NATO denounced Russia's "dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric." The European Union has promised Minsk new sanctions if the weapons are proliferated.
The United States reiterated that there was no reason to believe that Russia was preparing to use nuclear weapons, while condemning the Russian announcement.
Hybrid warfare
For his part, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said that the US position on his country's cooperation with Belarus in the nuclear field is a clear example of the double standards of US policy.
Antonov added that Washington has for 60 years played a central role in NATO's joint nuclear missions by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in the territories of 5 non-nuclear countries, namely Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
For her part, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova considered it naïve not to adopt any military countermeasures by Moscow, in response to what she described as the total hybrid war waged by the West against Russia.
Zakharova added that her country reserves the right to take additional steps to ensure its security and that of its allies in the face of the West, which has declared that it seeks to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, she said.