Germany slams Russian plans to deploy nukes in Belarus

BERLIN

A German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Monday lambasted Russian President Vladimir Putin for his plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

We see the Russian announcement as "another attempt at nuclear intimidation and we consider this rhetoric to be irresponsible and expressly reject it,” Andrea Sasse told reporters in Berlin.

Sasse vowed to continue her country’s steadfast support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Meanwhile, Sasse dismissed a German press report about the imminent expulsion of 30 Russian diplomats, saying “such a measure is currently not planned.”

Putin announced on Saturday that Russia will complete the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, sparking concern and condemnation from Ukraine and its Western allies.

Putin said his counterpart Alexander Lukashenko had long raised the issue.

“The US has long placed such weapons in a number of countries, so there is nothing unusual in Belarus’s request,” the Russian leader said.

He said Russia has already handed over Iskander missile systems, which can be used to launch nuclear weapons, to Belarus.

Russia will have completed the construction of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July 1 and the control of arms will not be transferred to Minsk, Putin added.