Belarus says it will cut Russian nuclear weapons to counter NATO

Belarus has confirmed it will host Russian nuclear tactical weapons in response to Western pressure, including sanctions and what it called military construction by NATO member states close to its borders.

The Foreign Ministry's statement was the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Moscow would place nuclear tactical weapons in Belarus and build a nuclear weapons storage facility there, Skynet writes.

This would also constitute the first nuclear weapons installation from Moscow outside its borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Belarus's Foreign Ministry said Russia's nuclear weapons offered protection after what it called a pressure campaign by the United Kingdom, the US and their allies aimed at overthrowing the president's government, Alexander Lukashenko.

Over the past two and a half years, the Republic of Belarus has been subjected to unprecedented political, economic and information pressure from the United States, the United Kingdom and its allies in NATO, as well as from member states of the European Union”, the ministry's statement said.

Minsk said Russian plans would not conflict with international non-proliferation agreements, because Belarus itself would not have control over nuclear weapons.