Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko regrets the surrender of legacy Soviet nuclear weapons in the early 1990s at the request of the United States. Photo/REUTERS
MINSK – Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he regretted the surrender nuclear weapons Soviet heritage in the early 1990s at the request of the United States (US). He admitted that he had hugged the weapon at the moment of separation.
Lukashenko, known as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, made the remarks on Thursday at the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly, a large gathering of top officials and public figures in Minsk.
“I have to sign the document. But if I had to make a decision at that time, we would never withdraw strategic nuclear weapons from Belarusian territory. He [Belarusia] has the most powerful weaponry. We don’t need any other modern weaponry. “However, this matter was decided before me at the request of the United States (US),” he said at the meeting.
Even so, the Belarusian leader admitted that he managed to capture an intimate moment with a nuclear warhead before the weapon was removed from his country.
“The nukes were deployed, I saw them. As I said, I have strategic nuclear warheads,” said Lukashenko, as quoted by Russia TodayFriday (26/4/2024).
Lukashenko also praised Russia’s recent deployment of nuclear missiles in Belarus.
According to him, although Russian nukes are tactical, not strategic, they perfectly fit Belarusian doctrine of having the ability to inflict unacceptable military damage to deter potential enemies.
“[Nuklir] must remain on Belarusian soil,” he stressed.
The deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus was announced by President Vladimir Putin early last year in apparent response to Britain’s decision to provide Ukraine with depleted uranium munitions.
Minsk has repeatedly requested the deployment of such troops in the past, citing aggressive Western policy towards Belarus and the perceived threat posed by US nuclear weapons in Europe.
