The Russian presidency (the Kremlin) did not rule out today, Monday, the possibility of deploying Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus if the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) deploys these weapons in Poland.
During a press briefing, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on Belarus’ announcement that it would offer Russia the opportunity to deploy its nuclear weapons in Belarus if NATO deployed them on Polish territory.
"It is no secret to anyone that the deployment of various weapons near our borders may represent a threat to us, which will require taking proportionate measures in order to rebalance the situation," Peskov said.
Peskov said it was too early to assess the response of Western countries to Moscow's proposals for security guarantees.
On the other hand, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized, last Wednesday, the statements of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about the possibility of the alliance transferring nuclear weapons to Eastern Europe, describing them as "reckless".
In a speech at the Federation Council (the upper chamber of the Russian parliament), the minister stated that during the process of forming the government coalition in Germany, the media published leaks about some coalition members who called for the inclusion of the demand to remove nuclear weapons from German soil in the program of the new government.
"While the final decision on this has not yet been taken, Mr. Stoltenberg stated that if Germany does not want this, we will move the nuclear weapons east," Lavrov added.
Lavrov also commented on the statement of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko about the possibility of his country receiving Russian nuclear weapons if NATO deploys such weapons on the territory of Poland neighboring Belarus.
Lavrov said, "I see this statement as a very serious warning that came in the first place in response to the reckless policy of the West."
Follow the latest news on Google News
