Belarus Calls on the U.S. to Withdraw Nuclear Weapons from Europe and Turkey

NATO countries should cease joint nuclear missions, and the United States must withdraw its nuclear weapons from Europe and Turkey. This statement was made on March 31 by Belarus's Permanent Representative to the UN, Valentin Rybakov.

“We urge Ukraine to decisively and courageously demand that NATO stop the practice of joint nuclear missions, and that the U.S. remove its nuclear weapons from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey,” he said during a UN Security Council meeting.

Rybakov noted that these countries can clearly be termed occupied states or countries held hostage by the U.S., according to the terminology used by Ukraine and certain UN Security Council member states.

Earlier on March 31, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he had activated negotiations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin regarding the return of nuclear weapons to the republic. He stated that the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus is not blackmail but a means to ensure the state's security.