The Kremlin mentioned Monday that threats of sanctions in opposition to Belarus wouldn’t cease its plan to station tactical nuclear weapons within the nation, a transfer that drew worldwide criticism after Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced the choice over the weekend.
Putin mentioned that Russia had reached an settlement with Belarus to station tactical nuclear weapons, that are meant to be used on the battlefield and are shorter-range than intercontinental missiles, elevating fears about intensified aggressions in opposition to Ukraine.
Western allies of Ukraine instantly responded to the information by criticizing the transfer by Putin and threatening sanctions in opposition to Belarus if it allowed Russia to place nuclear weapons within the nation.
“Belarus internet hosting Russian nuclear weapons would imply an irresponsible escalation & menace to European safety,” the European Union’s overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell tweeted on Sunday. “Belarus can nonetheless cease it, it’s their selection. The EU stands prepared to reply with additional sanctions.”
However the Kremlin mentioned it was undeterred by threats of doable sanctions in retaliation for its maneuver in Belarus. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov informed reporters on Monday the West’s response wouldn’t affect its resolution.
“Russia’s plans actually can’t be affected by such a response,” Peskov mentioned of the specter of sanctions.
Putin framed the transfer as no totally different than the stationing of nuclear weapons by the U.S. in European international locations, saying “we’re doing what they’ve been doing for many years.”
The Russian transfer rang alarm bells in Ukraine, with the nation’s management calling on the United Nations to convene an emergency meeting of the Safety Council and interesting to Belarus to not turn into a “hostage” of the Putin regime.
“Ukraine appeals to Belarusian society to stop the success of the legal functions concerning the deployment of nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus … which is able to additional flip this nation right into a hostage of the Kremlin,” Ukraine’s overseas ministry mentioned in the statement on Sunday.
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