French President Emmanuel Macron has said that no country "under any circumstances" can deploy nuclear weapons on foreign territory.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, Macron noted that China and France, as members of the UN Security Council and nuclear powers, should work together to preserve the international order.
“France believes that nuclear weapons should be completely excluded from the conflict in Ukraine. In no case can nuclear weapons be deployed outside the territory of a nuclear power, especially in Europe," the French president pointed out.
He also argued that Russia's recent decision to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus is "out of line" with its obligations under international law.
"China and France, […] given their history of love and adherence to independence, should cooperate to bolster an international order that could meet the challenges of the times," Macron stressed.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has, meanwhile, stated that he agrees with Macron on the issue of nuclear weapons.
“I agree with him. Therefore, Americans should withdraw all nuclear weapons from five or six countries where they are located," Lukashenko said at the meeting of Supreme State Council of the Union State on Thursday.
The remarks come after Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said late last month that the inadequate reaction of a number of countries to Moscow’s decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is puzzling, considering the hybrid war of the West against Russia.
In the conditions of a hybrid war unleashed by the West against Russia, and the declared intention of the United States and NATO to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia, it is natural for Moscow to issue military-technical countermeasures in this area, the spokeswoman added.
"We have reserved and still reserve the right to take the necessary additional steps to ensure the security of Russia and its allies," Zakharova emphasized.
On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow and Minsk had agreed to station Russia's tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which does not breach Russia's commitments to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.