MINSK, June 13. /TASS/. Coordinating with Russia on the use of nuclear weapons is not a problem, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 TV channel on Tuesday.
"Will I be looking around if a war breaks out? I make a call, and wherever he (Russian President Vladimir Putin - TASS) is, he takes the call. He calls, I answer the phone, at any moment, even right now. So what's the problem with coordinating a strike of some kind?" Lukashenko asked.
Lukashenko noted that he "not just asked," but he "demanded" that Putin return tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. "What do I need them (strategic nuclear weapons - TASS) for? It's not like I'm going to wage a war against America. Tactical nuclear weapons are enough. Yes, we agreed and we are putting this into practice," the Belarusian president said.
"We have always been a target [for the West]. They wanted to tear us to pieces since 2020," Lukashenko reiterated, stressing that "no one has ever fought against a nuclear country, a country that possesses nuclear weapons."
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. As the Russian leader indicated, the construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons will be completed in Belarus by July 1.
Moscow has already provided Minsk with Iskander tactical missile systems, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and has helped Minsk to re-equip its military aircraft to carry specialized weapons. Additionally, Belarusian missile crews and pilots have undergone training in Russia.
The deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus will begin immediately after the facilities for them are ready on July 7-8, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart in Sochi on June 9.