MINSK. March 30 (Interfax) - The "fuss" in the West about the decision to station Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is groundless, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Secretary General Sergei Lebedev said.
"The CIS has taken this decision calmly," Lebedev said before a meeting of the CIS Council of Permanent Representatives in Minsk on Thursday, as cited on the CIS website.
"I believe that the fuss being kicked up in the West is groundless and shows double standards, while this measure has been taken to ensure the security of the [Belarus-Russia] Union State. It has already been announced that there will be a double button there. That is, a decision on using nuclear weapons would have to be made by the two states. We do hope, and this has also been stated, that these weapons won't have to be used, this is just a pre-emptive measure," Lebedev said.
"For some reason, the West has stationed tactical nuclear weapons near Russia and Belarus's borders and this is supposed to be seen as normal, while an identical agreement reached within the Union State has been immediately met with noise, shouting, and howling. This yet again shows the double standards, duplicity, and hypocrisy of Western politicians," he said.
The decision on deploying tactical nuclear weapons was prompted by the need to ensure Belarus and Russia's security, Lebedev said. "We see military activities near Belarus's borders, particularly in Poland, including calls for deploying nuclear weapons on Polish territory," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 25 he had reached agreement with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on stationing Russian tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. Putin insisted that these weapons would not actually be handed over to Belarus.