The 25 March announcement was not about nuclear burden-sharing, as some have claimed, and there is no credible reason for Moscow to station nuclear weapons in Belarus. The absence of dialogue and the erosion of the disarmament and arms control architecture, combined with dangerous rhetoric and veiled threats, are key drivers of this potentially existential risk, she added.Īs Council members took the floor, the representative of the United States described the Russian Federation’s suggestion that its intention to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus is somehow justified as “ludicrous”.
Stressing that the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is currently higher than at any time since the depths of the cold war, she said the war in Ukraine represents “the most acute example of that risk”. While the issue of the hosting by a non-nuclear-weapon State of a nuclear-weapon State’s nuclear arms is one that has existed for decades, she said all such arrangements predate the Non-Proliferation Treaty - “with the exception of the recent announcement ”. “I wish to be clear at the outset - all States must avoid taking any actions that could lead to escalation, mistake or miscalculation,” she stressed, adding that all States parties must strictly adhere to their obligations under the landmark Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which is also known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, reported that on 25 March, Moscow announced its agreement with Minsk to station its non-strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus.
The Russian Federation’s recent announcement of plans to station non-strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus represents the first “nuclear sharing” agreement made since the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons entered into force in 1970, the senior United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today, emphasizing that - against the backdrop of the Ukraine conflict - the risk such arms will be used is higher today than at any time since the end of the cold war.
Many Speakers Condemn Russian Federation’s Dangerous Rhetoric, Veiled Threats
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