WASHINGTON, July 13. /TASS/. The US administration’s indignation at the developing cooperation between Russia and Belarus in the military-nuclear sphere is hypocritical and does not stand up to criticism, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said.
"The propensity of the United States and its allies to turn facts and logic inside out has long been no surprise to us," the Russian embassy quoted Antonov as saying on its Telegram channel. "The Administration’s indignation at the strengthening of the Russia-Belarus cooperation in the military nuclear area is hypocritical and does not stand up to criticism."
"The Alliance’s Communiqué claims that the deployment of our tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus undermines strategic stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic area," he said.
"At the same time, it also states that the US nuclear weapons in Europe serve to preserve peace and deter aggression. This is yet another confirmation of the double standards that are prevalent in NATO," the ambassador added.
“I would like to remind you that the members of the Alliance make no secret that their nuclear weapons and exercises are directed against Russia. They are increasingly calling for pushing of their nuclear infrastructure closer to the borders of the Union State of Russia and Belarus,” Antonov stressed.
“The actions we are taking are defensive in nature in the face of the all-out hybrid war unleashed against Russia with the declared intention to inflict on us ‘strategic defeat’,” Antonov said. “Unlike NATO, our security measures are being taken within the territory of the Union State, which forms a common defense space.”
On March 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia, at Minsk’s request, would deploy its tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil, precisely the way the United States has deployed elements of its own nuclear arsenal on the territory of its allies.
Moscow has already transferred the nuclear-capable Iskander system to Minsk and is helping its Belarusian colleagues to re-equip their aircraft accordingly. Belarusian missile troops and pilots underwent relevant training in Russia.
On June 16, Putin said that the first Russian nuclear warheads had already been delivered to Belarus and the entire batch would be deployed by the end of the year. On June 23, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that a significant part of the warheads planned to be delivered had already arrived in the republic.