MINSK, July 24 Deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus has become an adequate defensive reaction to the growth of NATO military activity in Eastern Europe, cooperation between Minsk and Moscow in the nuclear sphere does not pose a threat to third countries, said Larisa Belskaya, the republic’s permanent representative to the UN office and other international organizations in Geneva.
She made this statement during the 2nd session of the preparatory committee of the 2026 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. The texts of the speech were published on the website of the Permanent Mission of Belarus to the UN Office in Geneva.
“»The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is an adequate defensive reaction to the increase in NATO military activity in Eastern Europe. This, as President Lukashenko emphasized, does not cancel the peace initiatives of Belarus to launch a dialogue on issues of European and global security on equal terms conditions for the benefit of the entire planet,” Belskaya said.
She emphasized that «cooperation between Belarus and Russia in the nuclear sphere does not pose a threat to third countries, is carried out within the framework of international law and in strict accordance with the provisions of the NPT.» «Such interaction is not new. Similar measures have long been practiced within NATO in the form of so-called «joint nuclear missions» and the deployment of US nuclear weapons on the territory of five non-nuclear European member countries of the alliance,» the diplomat noted.
She recalled that “Belarus, more than 30 years ago, guided by a sense of deep responsibility, made a conscious choice in favor of renouncing the possession of its own nuclear weapons and acceded to the NPT as a nuclear-free state.” “Now Belarus is subject to unprecedented political and economic pressure; for many years, international obligations have been violated in relation to Belarus, which were the basis for the renunciation of nuclear weapons. All this is happening against the backdrop of escalating military-political tension in the region, the build-up of military potential and intensification of military activities in close proximity to our borders,” Belskaya emphasized. “In this situation, Belarus is forced to respond to challenges and risks to national security by taking measures aimed at strengthening the country’s defense capability,” she stated.
The Permanent Representative of Belarus also proposed steps to strengthen the NPT and create conditions for progressive movement towards a world without nuclear weapons. In particular, she said, Minsk calls for concrete measures to be taken to reduce nuclear risks and give the process of nuclear disarmament a multilateral character, and to ensure the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. “We also propose to consider the issue of developing a global legally binding agreement on providing non-nuclear countries, by states possessing nuclear weapons, with unambiguous and unconditional guarantees on the non-use of nuclear weapons and the prevention of the threat of their use,” Belskaya emphasized.