The German government on Sunday denounced a "
new attempt at nuclear intimidation
" on the part of Russia, after Vladimir Putin's announcement of the deployment of "tactical" missiles on the territory of Belarus.
“
We are not going to let ourselves be deviated from our course
” by these threats, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"
The comparison made by President Putin with NATO's nuclear missiles is wrong and cannot be used as a justification
", he added, also stressing that Belarus "
is going against
" its commitment to remain a territory without nuclear weapons.
On Saturday, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would deploy "
tactical
" nuclear weapons in Belarus and that ten planes had already been equipped to be ready to use this kind of weaponry.
“
There is nothing unusual here: the United States has been doing this for decades.
They have long been deploying their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies
,” Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Russian television.
