Part 1 of 2 Parts
     Unfortunately, the prospect of a regional nuclear war has been increasing in the past few years. China has been constructing a hundred new nuclear missile silos. And has been threatening to attack Japan and the U.S. with nuclear weapons if either country provides any assistance, weapons or troops to Taiwan in case of a Chinese invasion. Tensions are high between Pakistan and India which both have nuclear weapons. Israel is threatening to attack nuclear research facilities in Iran because it fears that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. There is a fear that a nuclear arms race may breakout between Arab nations in the Middle East. And Russia has been bragging about a new “unstoppable” hypersonic nuclear missile as well as sending fleets of nuclear bombers into the air space of other countries without any notification. Recently they sent nuclear bombers to overfly Belarus.
     The President of Belarus said last Tuesday that his country would be ready to host Russian nuclear weapons if NATA moves U.S. nuclear warheads from Germany to Eastern Europe.
      Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko also said for the first time that he formally recognizes the Crimean Peninsula as part of Russia and plans to make a state visit to the Peninsula in the near future.
     These comments were made by Lukashenko in an interview as he carried out actions intended to cement the relationship between Belarus and Russia. The interview was conducted by Dmitry Kiselyov who is the head of Russian state media group Russiya Segodnya. Russia is his main ally and sponsor amid tension with the West over his disputed reelection last year and his regime’s recent crackdowns on dissent in Belarus.
     He was asked to comment about reports on the possible redeployment of U.S. nuclear weapons to Eastern Europe if Germany’s new government turns out to be unwilling to continue to house the U.S. weapons. Lukashenko responded that he would invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to send Russian nuclear weapons back to Belarus which had been removed after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
     In the interview, Lukashenko said that he “would offer Putin to return nuclear weapons to Belarus.” Lukashenko did not elaborate what type of weapons Belarus would be willing to accommodate. He said that it would host those Russian weapons that would be “most efficient.” He pointed out that Belarus had been careful to preserve the necessary military infrastructure that dated back to the Soviet era.
      Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is a Belarusian opposition leader. She left Belarus under pressure following an unsuccessful attempt to unseat Lukashenko in last year’s election. She denounced the comments by Lukashenko with respect to welcoming Russian nuclear weapons. She said, “Such a person shouldn’t be trusted to handle matches, let alone nuclear weapons.” She went on to say that the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus would violate international arms agreements and the will of Belarus’ people. She added that “The majority of Belarusians have spoken for Belarus’ neutrality.”
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