Servicemen during joint Russia-Belarus military exercisesMOSCOW, Jan 19The published draft amendments to the constitution of Belarus do not contain a clause on the possible deployment of Russian nuclear weapons on its territory, but if necessary, Moscow and Minsk can agree on the deployment of Russian strike weapons there based on obligations within the CSTO and the Union State, a member of the Council on interethnic relations under the President of the Russian Federation, Bohdan Bezpalko. The US State Department previously stated that a change in the Belarusian constitution could lead to the deployment of Russian nuclear forces on the territory of the republic. According to the representative of the department, the proposed changes to the constitution allegedly include language that could be interpreted «as opening the way for Russia to deploy garrison forces on the territory of Belarus.» «/>Dzhabarov commented on the words about the deployment of nuclear forces in Belarus «I cannot say that such an amendment exists precisely in the proposed draft constitution, and even more so in the draft amendments to the Belarusian constitution that will be adopted. But Belarus is not only part of the EAEU and the CSTO, but also and to the Union State. Within the framework of the obligations of the CSTO and the Union State, it is possible to really agree on the deployment of strike weapons of the Russian Federation on the territory of Belarus,» Bezpalko said. He noted that it would not matter whether these weapons would be in a nuclear or non-nuclear equipment. “Yes, we can deploy strike weapons on the territory of Belarus, and this will be our response to NATO provocations and the alliance’s advance to the east,” the expert added. in the updated Belarusian constitution. “Until the changes are adopted, it’s premature to talk about it. Everything is being discussed so far. But, I want to note that, from the point of view of the constitution, Ukraine is also a neutral state, but, nevertheless, a provision was made there that it is moving to NATO «, — the expert concluded. Earlier, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti that Minsk would offer to place nuclear weapons on its territory if NATO takes a similar step in Poland. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Lukashenka's statement should be taken as a warning to the West. Later, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, in an interview with RT Arabic, said that Minsk was considering the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons on its territory in the event of a threat from NATO. The West has denied Russia security guarantees: what's next?
