Like an echo of the war thundering loudly in Ukraine, the thud of the nuclear duel between Washington and Moscow has never ceased to resonate.
We remember from February 24 the warning of Vladimir Putin, promising "
consequences that you have never known before
" to anyone who "
would try to interfere
" with his army.
A message particularly in the nuclear grammar inherited from the Cold War.
“
The Atlantic alliance is also a nuclear alliance,
” replied Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Then it was fear of the use of a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine that marked the month of April after the Russian army encountered resistance that it did not
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Read alsoUkraine: how Russia could deploy a nuclear arsenal in Belarus
In recent days, the shadow theater has shifted geographically, towards Belarus.
Recently, its president, Alexander Lukashenko, had already asked Vladimir Putin for Iskander-M missiles.
And the Russian president acquiesced during a June 25 meeting in Saint Petersburg with his ally, promising to supply Minsk with "
a number of Iskander-M tactical missile systems in the coming months
".
And to clarify: “
They can fire ballistic and cruise missiles with conventional and nuclear warheads
”.
The discussion did not end there: Alexander Lukashenko asked Vladimir Putin for planes that could “
carry nuclear payloads
”.
The Russian president then maintained a certain vagueness in his response: he promised to “
modernize
” in Russia a certain number of Sukhoi Su-25 which appear in the Belarusian inventory.
And to add in an enigmatic way: “
You and I will agree on the way in which this will be done.
And the pilots will have to undergo appropriate training
".
This is all the more surprising since Minsk has already modernized its old ground attack aircraft itself.
Why do it in Moscow?
Moreover, these zincs, used for example in Ukraine to strike Ukrainian positions, have never had the mission of carrying nuclear weapons.
While these words could have meant that Russia was going to participate in the nuclearization of its Western ally, Vladimir Putin continued to maintain the vagueness.
“Strategic Ambiguity”
“
In Europe, the Americans have 200 tactical nuclear weapons, in six European countries.
For their eventual use, 257 planes have been prepared, not only American but also belonging to the countries I mentioned
,” the Russian president asserted, concluding …
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