MINSK, 21 July (BelTA) – If need be, Russia will defend Belarus like its own territory. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement in an interview with the news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko was asked about declared plans to deliver Russian missile systems Iskander to Belarus and refit aircraft with the ability to carry nuclear weapons.
The president remarked: “We have such aircraft. We just need to refit them so that they could carry nuclear weapons. In response to what Americans are doing. They train Germans and other countries. They have prepared aircraft and are training them.”
Asked whether he would like Russian nuclear weapons to be deployed in Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “It is enough for us that Russia has nuclear weapons. If need be, Russia will defend Belarus like its own territory according to the treaty. We have such a treaty. This is why if nuclear weapons had to be used… God forbid of course we don't want that to happen. Because it will be the end. Nuclear weapons will be used both by France and by Russia [as nuclear powers that have the relevant weapons in their arsenal].”
