WASHINGTON, June 23. /TASS/. The speculations by US senators about the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons by Russia are absurd, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said in a statement on Thursday.
Commenting on a resolution proposed by two US senators that would consider any alleged use of tactical nukes in Ukraine by Russia as a direct attack on the North Atlantic Alliance, Antonov said, "The speculations about Russia's possible use of TNWs (tactical nuclear weapons - TASS) are absurd." "By using such cheap rhetoric, the local elite demonstrates its absolute incompetence in strategic matters," he maintained.
Moscow’s move to deploy tactical nukes to Belarus is legal, and it is in no violation of any international norms, the Russian diplomat insisted. "We did exactly what the Americans have been doing for decades by fielding nuclear bombs on the territories of their European allies," he explained.
Antonov condemned the US senators’ "crazy" initiative as "yet another manifestation of blind hatred for our country." "The authors of the new initiative are eager to drag the United States even more deeply in the conflict in Ukraine," he emphasized.
"The provocative and short-sighted remarks of the US lawmakers only serve to escalate tensions and increase the risk of the situation sliding to an even more dangerous point," Antonov warned. "Russia has always been a responsible nuclear power, which, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, bears a special responsibility for peace and international security," he concluded.
US senators’ proposal
On Thursday, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina announced that the upper chamber of US Congress had drafted a resolution that would consider any nuclear-related provocation by Russia or Belarus in Ukraine as a direct attack on NATO, triggering the alliance’s collective defense clause. The resolution was co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that, at Minsk’s request, Moscow would deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, similar to what the United States has long been doing on the territory of its allies. Moscow has already provided Minsk with Iskander tactical missile systems capable of carrying nuclear weapons and has helped Minsk to re-equip its military aircraft to carry specialized weapons. As well, Belarusian missile crews and pilots have undergone training in Russia.
At a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on June 9, the Russian president announced that Russia would start deploying its nukes to Belarus immediately after the facilities for them are ready on July 7-8.