MOSCOW (AP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart on Thursday discussed expanding economic cooperation and bolstering defence ties between their nations, which include a plan to deploy Russia’s nuclear weapons to Belarus amid the fighting in neighbouring Ukraine.
The Kremlin talks involved senior officials from both countries and followed Putin’s one-on-one meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday.
Putin said there would be “close work” on boosting cooperation under a union agreement that envisions close political, economic and military ties between Belarus and Russia.
Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading neighbouring Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there.
Last month, Putin declared that Moscow planned to put some of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, an announcement that marked another attempt by the Russian leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine.
Such weapons are intended to destroy enemy troops on the battlefield and have a relatively short range and a much lower yield compared with nuclear warheads fitted to long-range strategic missiles, which are capable of obliterating whole cities.
The deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus would put them closer to potential targets in Ukraine and NATO members in Eastern and Central Europe.
