Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that he was planning to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus and that Minsk would have a storage facility for Russian nuclear weapons ready by July 1, according to news reports.
Putin likened the move to the United States stationing its weapons in Europe, while insisting that Russia would not violate its nuclear non-proliferation promises, the Reuters news agency reported.
"Vladimir Putin's decision to deploy tactical nuclear weapons and their means of delivery in Belarus further increases tensions over Russian aggression against Ukraine," the Polish foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
It added that Putin's decision "is a further step towards drawing Belarus into the cogs of the Russian war machine."
The Polish foreign ministry also said that the plan "creates risks in terms of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons."
It added that "Russian actions confirm the legitimacy and importance of NATO's deterrence policy, in which Poland participates."
NATO on Sunday criticised Putin for what it called his "dangerous and irresponsible" nuclear rhetoric, news agencies reported. NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said that the Western military alliance was "closely monitoring the situation."
Ukraine, meanwhile, called for a meeting of the UN Security Council in response, according to Reuters.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday urged Belarus not to host Russian nuclear weapons, saying Minsk could face further sanctions if it did.
"Belarus hosting Russian nuclear weapons would mean an irresponsible escalation and threat to European security," Borrell said in a tweet.
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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters