MINSK, September 2. /TASS/. The existence of Russia's nuclear shield prevents the United States from taking tough steps against Russia and Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with students from higher educational establishments of the Vitebsk Region at Vitebsk State University.

"If today there were no Soviet nuclear shield, which is concentrated in Russia, we would not exist. Today they [the US] do not know how to go about the business of relations with us: should they try a very hard line, they will get a nuclear strike in response. This would spell the whole world’s death. But they don't want to die, because they - those who make these decisions - enjoy a wealthy and good life," the BelTA news agency quotes Lukashenko as saying.

He recalled that thanks to the Soviet Union’s efforts the United States, despite all its attempts, failed to become a nuclear weapons monopoly.

Lukashenko stated that the US "can inject any money into development."

"They (the US - TASS) have built up a certain potential in this way. Like a vacuum cleaner, the US attracted the best minds from all over the world, paid them good money, and they developed cutting-edge technologies," said the Belarusian president. He also pointed out that the US after World War II became "in many ways a monopoly and a powerful state."

"They produce almost a third of the world's wealth at our [post-Soviet countries’] expense. As long as they have this monopoly and print the dollar, they will be the frontrunners," the Belarusian president stated.