The Russian President, Vladimir Putinhas announced an agreement with its Belarusian counterpart, Alexander LukashenkoWith which plant tactical nuclear weapons in their territory. From the Kremlin they have assured that they will “without violating our international obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons”.
In 1962 Cuba was the enclave that witnessed the so-called ‘missile crisis’today is Belarusian the place that could top the nuclear tensions. Lukashenko holds the grudge of having to hand over nuclear weapons to Russia, deployed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1994. It is this grudge that justifies his threats to request them again from Moscow in the event that USA transfer them to Poland or Lithuania. “I will turn to Putin to recover the nuclear weapons that I handed over without conditions in 1994″. According to Putin, “regarding our conversations with Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, the trigger was the UK Deputy Defense Minister statement what are they going to supply depleted uranium ammunition to Ukrainethis is somehow related to the nuclear technology. Even outside the context of these events, Lukashenko has long been raising the question of deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus“.
The transfer of these weapons to Belarusian territory and border to Poland would play a role similar to the one carried out in Cuban territory, in this case close to the United States. The High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrellhas claimed that Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus means “another escalation of the conflict, another sign of the collaboration of the dictatorial regime of Belarus with Russia”. From Russia they downplay the fact by alleging that the United States has been doing the same in the territories of countries of the NATO in Europe, among which they mention, “if your memory serves correctly”, Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Greece. “Why do the Americans do this with their allies, deploy on their territory and teach their crews and pilots to use these types of weapons?” the Russian president has questioned.
[Así son las 2.000 armas nucleares tácticas rusas: ataques quirúrgicos para arrasar batallones enteros]
From mid nineties Russia did not announce the placement of tactical nuclear weapons outside the country. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991nuclear weapons were deployed in the four newly independent states: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It was not until nineteen ninety six when all of them were transferred in Moscow. This time it is about Belarus, which according to Putin was something that Lukashenko had been asking for some time when he saw the deployment of the NATO on the border Poland.
The tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) they are those that are used for specific gains on the battlefield, instead of destroying, for example, the largest cities. Russia has a high number of TNW, well above United States and NATOalthough the total amount is unknown since it is an area involved in the betrayals of the Cold War. The White House estimates 2,000 warheads tactics in operation, which is ten times the number of Americans.
If USwho has 200has deployed them in six air bases in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands.
He Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is “is the cornerstone of global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, foster cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and promote the goal of nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament,” as as defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This treaty entered into force in 1970 and 191 States (among them Russia and the United States) are part of it, which have pledged to fight for the non-proliferation of this type of weapons. In the case of non-nuclear-weapon countries, committed not to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, including belarus.
Putin Placing Nuclear Weapons in Belarus
1. Moscow will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
2. Putin claims this will not violate nuclear nonproliferation agreements.
3. Russia has moved 10 aircraft to Belarus that are capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons
4.… pic.twitter.com/Nb8BZ3vcE3
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 25, 2023
For this reason, being aware of the agreement, Putin has assured that “we will not violate our obligations, I emphasize, we will not violate our international obligations on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. We are not handing over weapons. We are basically doing the same thing that the United States has been doing for a decade. They have allies in certain countries and they train their carriers, they train their crews. We are going to do the same. This is exactly what Lukashenko asked for.”
The transfer of these weapons to Belarusian territory and the border with Poland is a tactic that fuels the fires of the cold war, since it poses a serious danger to Europe due to its proximity to NATO territories. As it explains Paul OrellanaProfessor of International Relations at King’s College London, “it’s a way of using weapons without actually using them”.
[Rusia avisa a la OTAN que utilizará armas nucleares si Ucrania intenta recuperar Crimea]
This deterrence strategy has already been applied previously by the NATO. even though only France and United Kingdom possess their own nuclear weapons, there are four European countries in which Washington has ceded tactical nuclear gravity bombs B-61. Poland has already requested to be included in this group, alleging the need to strengthen its security.
The High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrellhas claimed that Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus means “another escalation of the conflict”.
Borrell has said that the deployment announced by the Russian president is also “Another sign of the collaboration of the dictatorial regime of Belarus with Russia. It shows that we are right when we take action against the Belarusian regime,” when sanctions are adopted, he added.
[Corea del Norte lanza un dron submarino diseñado para “crear un tsunami radioactivo”]
The representative did not miss the opportunity to emphasize that there are more than 1,500 political prisoners in Belarus and that it is “a society gripped by a regime completely captive of its alliance with Moscow and the deployment of tactical weapons in Belarus is only increase this degree of dependency of this regime that the EU has already sanctioned and is fighting by supporting the Belarusian forces” that are fighting against it, he added.
In view of which, he stressed, it is necessary to continue doing “more of the same”: “maintain the sanctions, maintain the pressure, maintain support for the Belarusian oppositionsupport them financially and politically, everything we can do, but we have to keep doing it.”
