West reacts ‘hysterically’ to Russia’s plans to store nuclear weapons in Belarus: Kremlin

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – While the West reacts “hysterically” to Russia’s plans to build storage facilities for nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, they forget to remember the presence of US nuclear weapons in Europe, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

"The collective West is not inclined to somehow recall the topic of American nuclear weapons, which are based here in Europe, around our country, but in this case they are inclined to such a hysterical reaction to our plans to build storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview to Russian TV channel Rossiya-1.

Peskov further commented on the discussions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko during a meeting in Moscow on Thursday, saying that nuclear weapons are currently an important topic.

“Well, yes, this is a very important topic now. We see a very unrestrained reaction from the collective West to the announcements made by the President Putin," Peskov said.

Putin announced on March 25 that Russia will complete the construction of a special storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, sparking fierce international criticism.

Moscow will start training crews early in April, said Putin, adding that Russia would 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.
​​​​