Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answer to a question from the Belarusian All-National Television, June 24, 2023

Question: Russian nuclear weapons deployment is one of the most discussed topics in Belarus. This issue is both military and political. Is this, in your opinion, the way it should be? 

Sergey Lavrov: Our Belarusian friends and Russian representatives at the level of presidents and foreign ministries have repeatedly explained the current developments. The Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, as members of the Union State (which has a common Security Concept), have the full right to agree on deploying a portion of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. I am referring not only to special storage facilities but also to specially equipped aircraft.

Neither Minsk, nor Moscow is breaching any international commitments, including under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Russia retains control over the weapons that will be deployed in its ally’s territory. This fully ensures our compliance with the commitments I have mentioned.

It was not yesterday or the day before yesterday but many decades ago that the United States deployed its tactical nuclear weapons in five NATO countries under a programme known as Joint Nuclear Operations. The military in these non-nuclear countries are trained to handle these weapons. We repeatedly urged the US to withdraw these tactical nuclear weapons to its national territory in response to Washington’s appeals for discussing limitations on this type of weapons. We were ready to do that for years, provided that the Americans, like us, leave their tactical nuclear munitions in their national territory and eliminate the nuclear weapon infrastructure created in the five non-nuclear states.

We did not hear any arguments to refute our position. When various Western figures, including the US President and NATO representatives, say that Russia and Belarus are acting in an absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible way, this means just one thing: they are again in the grip of their colonial mentality. They can do whatever they please, and we – only what they allow us to do.