Lukashenko: Minsk Seeks Security Guarantees From Moscow in Case of External Aggression
10:08 GMT 10.04.2023 (Updated: 10:16 GMT 10.04.2023)
© Photo : Press service of Belarusian President / Go to the mediabankPresident of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, 30 November 2021
© Photo : Press service of Belarusian President
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MINSK (Sputnik) - Minsk requires that Moscow provides security grantees to Belarus to protect the territory of the republic as if its own territory in case of any external aggression, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday.
"In general, we discussed it at the talks [of the presidents of Belarus and Russia] so that in case of aggression against Belarus, Russia protects Belarus as its own territory. That's what security [guarantees] we need," Lukashenko was quoted as saying by a Belarusian state news agency at a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu in Minsk.
Lukashenko said that he raised this issues during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who fully supported Minsk's ideas on the matter.
"I raised this issue during negotiations with the Russian President. He fully supported me in all aspects. And, he said that we need to review all our treaties and agreements — Belarus and Russia — to see what kind of regulatory legal act of an interstate nature should be adopted now to ensure the complete security of Belarus," Lukashenko said.
The Russian defense minister arrived in the Belarusian capital to hold security hold with Lukashenko.
The meeting comes just weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko held talks in Moscow, where the Russian head of state announced that Russian tactical nuclear weapons would be deployed in Belarus in response to NATO stationing its weaponry close to Russia's borders.
"We agreed that - in this sense, [Belarusian President] Alexander Grigorievich [Lukashenko] is right when he says 'listen, we are your closest allies. Why do the Americans place nukes on their allies' territory?' They also engage, by the way, in the training of allies' pilots to use these weapons if necessary. We have agreed that if necessary, we will do the same thing, without violating our obligations - I would like to emphasize - without violating our international obligations on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons," Putin said.
"The United States has been doing this for decades. They have long placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of allied countries, NATO countries, in Europe. In six states, if memory serves: Germany, Turkiye, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Greece. There are no nukes in Greece right now, but there is a storage facility," the Russian president added.
The Kremlin has put a premium on the fact that the move does not breach Russia's commitments to the non-proliferation since Moscow will retain control over the nukes. The storage sites for weapons are expected to be finished by July 1.
For his part, Lukashenko made it clear that he may also consider hosting Russian strategic nuclear weapons if deemed necessary for the protection of the country.