“An attempt at nuclear intimidation”

Kyiv/Moscow (dpa) – The Federal Government has expressly criticised the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus announced by Russia. The Federal Foreign Office in Berlin spoke of “yet another attempt at nuclear intimidation”. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on state television that Russia and Belarus – which both share borders with Ukraine – had agreed on the stationing of tactical nuclear weapons with a range of several hundred kilometres. In the past, Putin demanded the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Germany. The German Foreign Ministry stated that the comparison was misleading, pointing out that Belarus has signed a number of international declarations in which it committed to making its territory nuclear-free.