A NATO attack on Belarus would trigger a world war and prompt Minsk to deploy nuclear weapons in response, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warned during a meeting with university students on Friday.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed amendments to the country’s nuclear doctrine. Under the changes, a nuclear response could be triggered if either Russia or Belarus becomes the target of aggression using conventional weapons by a non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state.
“As soon as they attack us, we use nuclear weapons. And Russia gets involved for us,”Lukashenko said, also recalling that he had already said that any attack on Belarus would trigger a third world war.
The Belarusian leader also claimed that the US and Poland have been strengthening their forces along the border and that the leadership in Warsaw is “already rubbing its hands.”
Lukashenko acknowledged that if Minsk used nuclear weapons, the West would likely respond and target Russia as well, which would prompt Moscow to unleash its entire arsenal.
“This is already a world war. The West does not want this either. They are not ready for this. But we tell them frankly – the red line is the state border. If they step on it, the response will be immediate,” he said.
Lukashenko called for a resolution to the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible and to “stop this war” before any red lines are crossed. He expressed confidence that “normal relations between people” could be restored over time and stressed that further escalation should be avoided. “We have already messed up more than enough. We need to come to an agreement.”
While Minsk does not possess its own atomic arsenal, last year Putin ordered Russian tactical nuclear weapons to be stationed in Belarus and signaled that Moscow would protect the country should it come under attack.
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