Belarus would be willing to use the nuclear weapons given by Russia in the face of foreign “aggression,” President Alexander Lukashenko has said, as tensions rise around the country’s borders with NATO nations.
Belarus has played a key role in Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Moscow using Belarus as one of its launch pads for the invasion in early 2022, while joint Russia-Belarus military drills over the past year have fueled concerns Belarusian troops could get involved in the Ukraine war.
In June, Russian nuclear warheads were reportedly delivered to Belarus for “deterrence,” according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
But in an interview with state news agency Belta on Thursday, August 17, Lukashenko claimed Belarus would “never get involved in this war” unless Ukrainians crossed its border. But he added: “We will keep helping Russia, they are our ally.”
He also warned that if provoked by neighboring NATO countries like Poland, Lithuania and Latvia – Belarus would “immediately respond with everything we have,” including nuclear weapons.
During the interview, Lukashenko said if Belarus were to come under attack, “we will not tarry, wait, and the rest. We will use the entire arsenal of our weapons for deterrence.”
“We didn’t bring nuclear weapons here in order to scare someone,” he added. “Yes, nuclear weapons represent a strong deterring factor. But these are tactical nuclear weapons, not strategic ones. This is why we will use them immediately once aggression is launched against us.”
Lukashenko’s latest comments come as Belarus’ northern neighbors are on edge over the presence of Russian mercenary group Wagner – which is stationed in Belarus following the short-lived rebellion in Russia earlier this summer.
In recent weeks, there have been reports of Wagner troops moving toward a thin strip of land between Poland and Lithuania, in an apparent attempt to increase pressure on NATO and European Union members.
Citing concerns over Wagner, Poland recently announced it would move around 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus..
During the Thursday interview, Lukashenko denied that Putin may have been weakened by the failed Wagner mutiny, calling such claims “total nonsense.”
“Putin is now more mobilized, more cunning, and wiser. Our adversaries need to know it,” Lukashenko said, adding: “Nobody will overthrow Putin today.”
He also reiterated that it had been his idea to deploy Wagner fighters in Belarus. “In order to quell this mutiny, to put out this fire, it was necessary to accept any conditions because the mutiny could have been devastating to everyone,” he said.
Lukashenko also weighed in on the ongoing war on Thursday, warning that Moscow would never give up the Crimean territory it illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
While Russia is open to negotiations on Ukraine, it will “never ever return Crimea,” he said, according to Belta.
“It won’t happen. I doubt for now that some agreement can be reached here, in the east. But Russia is ready to discuss any topic. I know it for sure,” Lukashenko said.
