Weapons should be put into a single “pile” and destroyed, the Belarusian president has suggested
FILE PHOTO. Alexander Lukashenko. © Sputnik / Alexey Danichev
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has called for global nuclear disarmament, suggesting that any nuclear weapons should be placed into a single “pile” and destroyed all at once.
The leader was commenting on Thursday when asked to respond to statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to China.
Macron argued that any notion of using nuclear arms should be “totally excluded” from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. He added that “under no circumstances” should nuclear weapons be deployed outside the countries that possess them, “particularly in Europe.”
The remark was directed at the recent plan agreed by Moscow and Minsk, under which Belarus will host Russian tactical nuclear weapons.
In comments to the Russia 24 TV channel, Lukashenko said he agreed with Macron, but that US nuclear weapons deployed to multiple European NATO members must therefore be withdrawn – and ultimately destroyed.
“I agree with him. Therefore, it is necessary to withdraw all the American nuclear weapons from the five or six countries where they are located,” Lukashenko asserted.
I am a radical in this respect – I think that nuclear weapons should be brought together into one pile and destroyed.
The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus was announced last month by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Shortly after, Lukashenko said his country was also ready to host Russian strategic nuclear weapons, as the two nations “will stop at nothing” to protect their people. Such a move would show their readiness to defend “sovereignty and independence,” he added.
The nuclear agreement between Moscow and Minsk has been widely criticized in the West, with multiple senior officials threatening new sanctions against Belarus. However, Russia and its ally have dismissed the criticism, pointing at NATO’s own “nuclear sharing” scheme involving American weapons, which has been active for decades.
