The nuclear triad should continue to serve as a reliable guarantor of the sovereignty of Russia and Belarus and a tool for maintaining global parity. This was stated today, May 21, by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a video conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, TASS reports, quoted by Focus.
The two leaders discussed the ongoing joint exercises between the countries, involving the combat use of nuclear weapons and nuclear support.
The Russian president noted that this is the first joint exercise between the Russian and Belarusian armies on command and control of strategic and tactical nuclear forces. He stressed that the use of such weapons should only be a last resort, an exceptional measure to ensure the national security of both countries.
''Given the growing tension in the world and the emergence of new threats and risks, our nuclear triad, as before, must serve as a reliable guarantor of the sovereignty of the union state of Russia and Belarus, ensuring the resolution of issues of strategic deterrence, maintaining nuclear parity and the balance of power at the global level'', Putin said.
Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov, speaking about whether the joint nuclear exercises between Russia and Belarus are a signal to Europe and NATO, said that any military exercises serve as a signal to other countries.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced the holding of exercises on the northern and eastern borders from May 19 to 21 on "preparation and use of nuclear forces in conditions of threat of aggression''. A day earlier, on May 18, Belarus also announced the start of exercises of units on the combat use of nuclear weapons and nuclear security.