MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/. Member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are building up military forces on the borders of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
"The Europeans, of course, are harboring plans to butress their forces and resources right on the borders of the Union State of Russia and Belarus," Lavrov said at a roundtable discussion with foreign ambassadors in Moscow.
"Poland alone has announced its intention to increase production of 155-mm ammunition by 30 times," he noted.
According to Lavrov, NATO member states try convincing the world community that they are preparing not for war, but for some kind of just peace in Ukraine, seeking "some kind of role in the settlement."
He added: "All these Europeans, like [French President Emmanuel] Macron, who proudly state that 'without us, without Europe, no one would be able to solve anything."
The Russian foreign minister named Belarus and Turkey as constructive mediators in resolving the Ukraine conflict.
"We can see that some countries are capable of playing a constructive role as mediators. These include Belarus and Turkey, and President Putin discussed that with [Turkish] President Erdogan the other day, who is also very much interested in assisting efforts to create a platform [for negotiations]," Lavrov noted.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced later in the day that President Putin planned to hold a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of his visit to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, on December 12.
Russia-Belarus nuclear deal
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in 2023 his decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus at Minsk’s request, similar to what the United States had long done on the territory of its allies. On April 25, 2024, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that several dozen nuclear warheads had been stationed in Belarus.
Under the latest agreement on security guarantees that took effect in the Union State in March 2025, the two countries view Russian nukes as a key factor in preventing nuclear conflicts or military conflicts involving conventional arms, as well as a means of containment that can only be used as an absolute last resort.
Besides, Russian nuclear weapons can be used in response to the use of nukes or other weapons of mass destruction against either of the two Union countries. Also, they can be used in the event of aggression against either Russia or Belarus, with conventional weapons, that may pose a critical threat to their sovereignty or territorial integrity.
The decision to use Russian nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus for the latter’s protection should be made according to procedures established by the two countries.