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‘Various options are available’: Kremlin warns NATO over weapons near Russia’s borders

Earlier, the Belarusian foreign minister stated that Belarus was ready to host nuclear weapons on its soil if a threat emanated from NATO

MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. Moscow is considering various moves in response to NATO’s possible deployment of weapons near Russia’s borders, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

When asked if Russia could deploy nuclear weapons to Belarus, he said: "It is no secret that the deployment of various kinds of weapons near our borders, which can pose danger to us, clearly requires adequate steps to balance the situation. Various options are available," the Kremlin spokesman noted.

Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said earlier that the former Soviet state was ready to host nuclear weapons on its soil if a threat emanated from NATO. President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, in turn, stated that Minsk would propose Moscow take such measures if NATO deployed nuclear weapons to Poland.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on NATO to engage in substantive talks in order to provide Moscow with reliable and long-term security guarantees. The head of state specified that Russia was seeking legal and judicial guarantees because the West had earlier failed to keep its verbal promises.