The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko has warned against forcing his key ally ‘into a corner’, stressing that Russia has nuclear weapons for a reason just a few days after reigniting concerns he could commit his army to support Russian forces in Ukraine,
In extracts of an interview with United States-based broadcaster NBC that were made public on Friday by Belarus’s state news agency, Lukashenko said, ‘The most important thing is, don’t drive your interlocutor and even your opponent into a corner. So you mustn’t cross those lines – those red lines, as the Russians say. You can’t cross them.’
Africa Today News, New York reports that in recent weeks, there has been growing concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin may resort to nuclear weapons since a series of defeats for his forces in Ukraine swung the momentum of the war in Kyiv’s favour.
‘As for nuclear weapons, any weapon is a weapon created for something,’ Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, was quoted as saying.
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‘Russia has clearly outlined its position: God forbid there will be an attack on the territory of the Russian Federation; in that event, Russia can use all types of weapons if necessary,’ he added.
Lukashenko has no say in Putin’s military decisions but his comments served to underline the heightened tensions as the war nears the end of its eighth month.
Recall that sometime last month, Putin had unilaterally proclaimed four Ukrainian regions as part of Russia, a move overwhelmingly condemned this week by the United Nations General Assembly, and has said he will defend Russia’s “territorial integrity” by all means, including nuclear weapons if necessary.
Lukashenko said separately he had placed Belarus in what he called a state of heightened “terrorism” alert because of tensions on its borders.