MINSK, 21 December (BelTA) – If the USA and NATO refuse to discuss Russian security guarantee proposals with Russia, all the possible response actions will be considered. Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Rudenko made the statement as he commented on the possible deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus, RIA Novosti reports.
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko previously told RIA Novosti in an interview that Minsk will suggest that Russia should deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus if NATO does the same in Poland.
Andrei Rudenko said: “All the matters are being evaluated in totality. We've heard such proposals from our Belarusian allies. All the variants will be considered but, as I've already said, a lot will depend on the response we expect to get from the USA and the NATO bloc.”
The official also stated that Russia looks forward to an official response of the USA and NATO to Russian proposals on security guarantees.
On 17 December the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a draft treaty with the USA and a draft agreement with NATO on security guarantees. The documents have already been forwarded to the USA and its allies. Among other things the draft agreement suggests that NATO should provide guarantees that the alliance will not expand onto Ukraine. RIA Novosti previously quoted Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Ryabkov as saying that a new circle of confrontation may follow if NATO and the USA fail to respond to the Russian Federation's demands concerning the security guarantees.
