TOKYO, March 26. /TASS/. Russia’s decision to deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus comes as a response to the West's stepping up military aid to Ukraine, the Japanese NHK TV channel and leading Japanese newspapers opine on Sunday.
The purpose appears to be to deter Western countries that are stepping up military support for Ukraine, NHK noted. For its part, Japan's largest newspaper Yomiuri also expresses the view that the decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is aimed to curb new arms supplies from the US and Europe to Ukraine. The newspaper believes that Moscow is oncerned about a possible counterattack by Kiev with the use of sophisticated foreign weaponry, including Western tanks.
The country's leading business daily Nikkei also thinks that Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision is directly linked to the desire to put pressure and curb deliveries of Western arms to Ukraine. The Asahi newspaper echoed this view.
The Japanese authorities have not commented on the decision so far.
Earlier, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia, at the request of the Belarusian side, would deploy its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, as the United States has long been doing on the territory of its allies. Russia has already handed over to Belarus the Iskander system, which can be a carrier of nuclear weapons, and is to complete the construction of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of the republic on July 1, Putin said.