2023-07-07 05:38:33
By Steve Rosenberg, BBC Russia Correspondent, Minsk
July 7, 2023 at 5:35 am
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Will Belarus Use Nuclear Weapons Deployed by Russia?President Lukashenko replied
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko is said to have brokered the deal to end the Wagnerian mercenary insurgency.
This rumor, if true, will be the murkiest part of the story. So if anyone can unravel the truth regarding this most murky story, it must be the Belarusian leader. At least we hope so.
We are one of the few journalists invited to a “dialogue” with Lukashenko at the Independence Palace in Minsk.
Only a few weeks ago, there was constant speculation regarding his health. However, the Belarusian strongman in front of me is obviously in good physical shape. This “conversation” lasted nearly four hours.
However, instead of providing any key information regarding the latest Russian uprising, he made the message even more confusing.
According to the agreement between the Wagner Group and the Kremlin, the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozin, was supposed to emigrate to Belarus with his mercenaries.
But that didn’t happen. At least not yet.
“As of this morning, these important Wagner fighters were still stationed in the camp following Bakhmut’s evacuation,” Lukashenko said.
image copyrightBelarus presidential pool
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Russia claims it is shipping nuclear warheads to Belarus.
“As for Prigozin, he’s in St. Petersburg. Or maybe he flew to Moscow this morning. Or maybe he’s somewhere else. But he’s not in Belarus.”
I asked Lukashenko if this means the agreement has broken down? He denies it. But I sense there may be conversations going on behind the scenes that we won’t be told regarding.
When it comes to discussing the Wagnerian rebellion, in fact Moscow and Minsk do not quite agree.
Over the weekend, Russian state television declared Putin a hero through the drama.
“I don’t think anyone can be a hero in that situation,” Lukashenko told me.
“Not Prigozin, not Putin, not Lukashenko. There are no heroes. What is the lesson from this? If we create such armed groups, we need to keep an eye on them and give them serious attention. “
image copyrightGetty Images
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When it comes to discussing the Wagnerian rebellion, Moscow and Minsk are not in fact on the same page.
Our “dialogue” turns to the question of nuclear weapons. In particular, Russia claims to be shipping nuclear warheads to Belarus.
“God blessed me not having to make the decision to use them,” Lukashenko said. But he said recently, “But I wouldn’t hesitate to use them.”
I reminded him of these words.
“The same can be said regarding Joe Biden, and Prime Minister Sunak,” Lukashenko replied to me. He added, “And my friend Xi Jinping and my elder brother President Putin.”
I added, “But we’re not talking regarding your weapons, they’re Russian weapons. It’s not going to be your decision.”
The leader retorted to me: “In Ukraine, the entire army is fighting with foreign weapons, right? And NATO weapons. It’s because Ukraine has exhausted its own weapons. So why can’t I fight with someone else’s weapons Woolen cloth?”
But we’re talking regarding nuclear weapons, not pistols, I replied.
“Nuclear weapons, yes. They are also weapons, tactical nuclear weapons,” he replied to me.
From these comments regarding nuclear weapons, you might guess that Lukashenko is quite a controversial figure.
The United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom do not recognize him as the legitimate president of Belarus.
In 2020, Belarusians took to the streets accusing him of stealing the country’s presidential election. The protests were brutally suppressed.
I mentioned the case of Maria Kolesnikova, an imprisoned opposition figure in Belarus.
“Her relatives and lawyers have been prevented from visiting her for months. Why?” I asked.
“I don’t know anything regarding it,” he claimed.
I reminded Mr. Lukashenko that “when I visited you in the autumn of 2021, there were 873 political prisoners in Belarus, and now it has increased to 1,500.”
“There is no provision in our penal code for political crimes,” he replied to me.
However, I pointed out that the absence of laws on political crimes does not mean that there are no political prisoners.
But he insisted on responding, saying, “A prisoner cannot be considered a political prisoner if there is no relevant law. How can they be a political prisoner?”
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