Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in March announced he wanted to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, an apparent warning to the U.S.-led NATO military alliance over its support for Ukraine.
According to a readout from the Kremlin, as quoted by the news agency Reuters, Putin said, "So everything is according to plan, everything is stable".
"Preparation of the relevant facilities ends on July 7-8, and we will immediately begin activities related to the deployment of appropriate types of weapons on your territory," Putin said after meeting with Lukashenko in Sochi, according to a Kremlin transcript of his remarks.
To this, Lukashenko said, "Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich."
Russia’s President even said that the United States and its Western allies are pumping arms into Ukraine as part of an expanding proxy war aimed at bringing Russia to its knees, added Reuters.
Putin's nuclear move is being watched closely by both the United States and its NATO allies in Europe and by China, which has repeatedly cautioned against the use of nuclear weapons in the conflict, writes an American media company publishing news U.S. News & World Report.
(aj)
SOURCE: Reuters; usnews.com