Belarus Leader Lukashenko Warns His Country Will Host 'Russian Super-Nuclear Weapons'

Belarus leader Lukashenko warns his country will host 'Russian super-nuclear and up-and-coming weapons if stupid and mindless steps are taken by our rivals'

CHRIS JEWERS FOR MAILONLINE and AFP

• Lukashenko due to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday
• Ex-Soviet Belarus, which is not a nuclear power, will this month hold vote on constitutional reforms which could make it legal to host nuclear weapons
• Lukashenko has previously offered to host Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus
• Belarus last held nuclear warheads when it was part of the Soviet Union
• But with the fall of the USSR, former Soviet states dismantled nuclear weapons

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko warned on Thursday his country could host 'super-nuclear' weapons if it faces any external threats, as tensions soar between his ally Russia and the West over Ukraine.

Lukashenko is due to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday. He has previously offered to host Russian nuclear weapons.

'If necessary, if such stupid and mindless steps are taken by our rivals and opponents, we will deploy not only nuclear weapons, but super-nuclear and up-and-coming ones to protect our territory,' Lukashenko said, according to the state-run Belta news agency.

'But if there are no threats to Belarus from unfriendly countries, then nuclear weapons are not needed here for a hundred years,' he added.

Ex-Soviet Belarus, which is not a nuclear power, will later this month hold a vote on constitutional reforms which could make it legal for Belarus to host nuclear weapons.

Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, promised the referendum in the wake of historic protests against his disputed re-election. The constitutional reforms would also allow Lukashenko to remain in office until 2035. 

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