MINSK. July 6 (Interfax) - A number of Russian tactical nuclear weapons have already been deployed to Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko said.
"This is a subject that no politician is likely to consider it appropriate to speculate on. A certain number of nuclear warheads was redeployed to Belarus. They're under reliable protection," the presidential press service quoted Lukashenko as saying at a meeting with journalists in Minsk on Thursday.
Neither the West nor fugitive Belarusian opposition activists were able to track the transfer of the tactical nuclear weapons, he said.
"I'll tell you a mind-blowing fact: we didn't move the nuclear warheads by land. We didn't bother anyone. We moved them in such a way that neither you, nor the [United] States, nor MI-6, nor Germany noticed it anywhere. Such was the idea," Lukashenko said.
Aided by Russian specialists, Belarus is ensuring ideal conditions for storing the tactical nuclear weapons, he said.
If there is a hypothetical need to use the nuclear weapons, Russia will consult the Belarusian leadership, as the two leaders call each other, meet, and discuss issues even with regards to less important operations, Lukashenko said.
"If I don't want something or if our people and our state don't want something, then it won't happen," Lukashenko said when outlining a possible decision-making procedure on the use of the nuclear weapons.
As for the possible use of nuclear weapons, Belarus is not planning to attack anyone, and these weapons are intended solely for defense, Lukashenko said.
"If you commit aggression against Belarus, there will be an immediate response. The targets have been designated," he said.
In late March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he agreed with Lukashenko on stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.