MINSK, December 27. /TASS/. A proposed new Belarusian Constitution would drop the current article that says the country seeks to be nuclear-free and neutral, according to the proposals published on a government website on Monday.
Instead, the new constitution would have a section prohibiting the government from starting military aggression from the country’s territory.
The current constitution states that, "The Republic of Belarus shall set a goal to make its territory nuclear-free and declare itself as neutral." The new constitution would state that the country "shall rule out military aggression from its territory against other states."
Another proposal for the new constitution says the country’s legislature, when asked by the president, will consider whether to send its armed forces or any other people abroad to take part in collective security or peacekeeping efforts.
Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makey said earlier that the country was ready to deploy nuclear weapons if threatened by NATO. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Minsk would offer to host Russian nuclear weapons if NATO moves its nuclear weapons to Poland.
The proposed constitutional amendments come after Lukashenko responded to the protests, which erupted following presidential elections in August 2020, by suggesting changes to the constitution. The essence of the proposals is to keep a strong presidency while expanding the powers of the cabinet. It’s also proposed to enshrine the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly in the constitution and give it more functions.