"Regarding the development of allied relations in the military-political sphere between Belarus and Russia, I am deeply sure that this step will serve the further development of our union state in this particular sphere of cooperation," Ambrazevich said. "Belarus will gain a new capacity, of course, a new significance, including for the Russian Federation."
On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow and Minsk have agreed to station Russia's tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, which does not breach Russia's commitments to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. On April 2, Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov said that nuclear weapons in Belarus will be stationed closer to the western borders of the Union State.
The United States and its allies have repeatedly called on Russia to reconsider its decision to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus. On March 26, the European Union said it was ready to respond with new sanctions if Belarus proceeds with its plan to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons given that they allegedly threaten EU security.
At the end of March, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had ordered the restoration of the platforms in which strategic ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads were once stationed. Belarus has conventional means to counter external aggression but would use everything at its disposal, including tactical nuclear weapons, if a threat to the country's existence emerged, Lukashensko added.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, as many as 81 Topol nuclear missiles were stationed in Belarus. In May 1992, Belarus signed the Lisbon Protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, agreeing to destroy or hand over all strategic nuclear warheads on its territory to Russia. All nuclear missiles deployed in Belarus were transferred to Russia by November 1996.
The union state, founded in 1997, originally aimed to create a confederation, now it is a supranational union consisting of Belarus and Russia aimed at the deepening of their relations in the economic and defense spheres.