In light of the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) in Belarus, Western countries should take what is happening realistically and not provoke Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said.
“Our opponents just have to really perceive what’s going on around them. Do not escalate, do not provoke us, because the matter can end with such twists, which now, in principle, can only be talked about hypothetically, ”he said on the airwaves of the channel of Rossiya 24 television.
The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus was announced earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Speaking of this, he referred to similar actions by the United States. The head of state added that Moscow helped Minsk to re-equip planes for the use of tactical nuclear weapons, and also handed over the Iskander complexes.
According to Putin, the reason for the negotiations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on the deployment of such munitions was the transfer of tank cartridges containing depleted uranium from the United Kingdom to Ukraine. The Russian president has promised that the construction of a tactical nuclear weapons storage facility will be completed by June 1.
The Head of State stressed that the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in this country does not violate the obligations arising from the Treaty on Measures to Reduce and Further Limit Strategic Offensive Arms (START, START-III).
In a February speech to the Federal Assembly, Putin announced Russia’s unilateral suspension of the New START treaty, a document that limits Moscow and Washington’s nuclear arsenals. He stressed that Russia was not withdrawing from the treaty, but suspending its application.
Russian Foreign Ministry urged not to provoke Moscow in light of Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus
