EU decries Russia-Belarus deal allowing deployment of Russian nuclear warheads

GENEVA

The EU on Friday condemned the agreement between Russia and Belarus to allow the deployment of Russian nuclear warheads on Belarusian territory.

"This is a step which will lead to further extremely dangerous escalation," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Borrell recalled that the decision contradicts commitments that Russia has undertaken in the Budapest Memorandum, under which Belarus eliminated all nuclear weapons from its territory, and in the Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States of Jan. 3, 2022, which said "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."

"We call on Russia to abide by these commitments," he urged.

Calling Belarus an "accomplice" in Russia's "illegal and unprovoked" war against Ukraine, he said: "We call on Belarusian authorities to put an immediate end to their support of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, and reverse decisions that can only contribute to heightening tensions in the region, and undermine Belarus' sovereignty."

He warned that any attempt to further escalate the situation will be met by "a strong and coordinated" reaction.