MINSK, 26 September (BelTA) – Belarus does not consider using any weapons against anyone, to say nothing of nuclear weapons, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Vladimir Makei said in an interview with FRANCE 24 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“In general, we are absolutely against the use of nuclear weapons. Maybe you know that back in the 1990s we removed nuclear weapons from the territory of Belarus. We were the first country to do this without any preconditions. Thus, we are strongly against the use of nuclear weapons, because this will lead, in my opinion, to the destruction of humankind. It should be noted that we are against the use of any weapons. I am sure that there is always an opportunity to sit down at the negotiating table and find a solution to a problem. This is what our president keeps saying,” the minister emphasized.
The journalist remarked that in accordance with the agreements with Russia, Belarus has weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads. In this regard, he asked whether Belarus could be used to conduct a nuclear strike against Ukraine, if Russia asks to do so.
"Again, I repeat, we are interested in ending the conflict as soon as possible. We are not going to strike,” Vladimir Makei assured.
As for why Belarus needs such types of weapons, the minister noted that the country should take care of its security. “How can we sit quietly and watch NATO contingent growing on the western border of Belarus - in Poland, in the Baltic countries and the number of military exercises conducted by NATO increasing every year? Last year alone their number tripled. We should think about the security of our people, about the well-being of our people. We are trying to take reciprocal steps,” the diplomat explained.
“We are not considering the use of nuclear weapons. And we are not considering the possibility of using any weapons against anyone,” Vladimir Makei stressed.
Answering the question whether there is a military threat to Belarus from NATO, Western countries or any neighbors in Eastern Europe, the minister said: “I hope that this will not happen now or in the future. But we are quite concerned about the deployment of U.S. military forces in the neighboring countries.”
“In my opinion, the world is now unpredictable. There are all kinds of politicians and many of them are absolutely unpredictable. Nobody can predict what will happen in the near future,” the minister said answering the question whether an attack on Belarus could be possible.
