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France is angered by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. Photo/Russian Ministry of Defense via REUTERS
NEW YORK CITY – French angry and criticized the decision of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin who will deploy nuclear weapons tactical Moscow to Belarus. Paris’ stance was conveyed in a letter addressed to the UN Security Council (DK).
“France condemns the agreement between Russia and Belarus to deploy nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory,” said the French letter written by its Permanent Representative to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere, Friday.
According to him, Putin’s decision in the midst of the increasingly heated war between Russia and Ukraine is another blow to the architecture of arms control, to strategic stability in Europe, and to international peace and security.
French diplomats say that since 2018, Russia has been violating the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF Treaty, which directly contributed to its collapse.
Russia, the diplomat continued, also suspended its participation in the New Start Treaty last February, and Paris asked Moscow to review the decision. “Russia has repeatedly used aggressive and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric,” he said.
“By announcing its intention to deploy nuclear weapons outside its borders, Russia is once again violating its international commitments, in particular the Budapest Memorandum, and exacerbating an already unstable situation,” Riviere continued.
France reiterated that it will continue to support Ukraine in maintaining its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
“We condemn the use of Belarusian territory as a rear base and as a launching pad for Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. We call on Belarus not to take further steps towards escalation, reconsidering its decision to accept the deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory,” the French diplomat added. quoted from the official website of the French Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Saturday (1/4/2023).
Putin’s Reasons for Deploying Nuclear Forces to Belarus
President Vladimir Putin, in his announcement last Saturday, said Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons would arrive in Belarus as early as this summer.
Belarus is an ally of Russia. The country, which borders Ukraine and some members of it, has been sanctioned by the European Union and the United States (US) for supporting Moscow’s war.
