Russia’s Ambassador Stepping Back :: Charter'97 :: News

Ambassador of Russia to Belarus Aleksandr Surikov started rebutting his own words on probable stationing Russia’s military facilities in Belarus, including nuclear weapons .He remarked that his viewpoint on development of military cooperation between Belarus and the Russian Federation declared a day before in one of his interviews “was completely misinterpreted. And some periodicals are quoting statements which I have never pronounced”, the Ambassador told.

The day before Ambassador of the Russian Federation did not exclude the might-be deployment of Russia’s new military facilities in Belarus in return to stationing the US antimissile system components in Europe. “That depends on the level of our political integration and on the viewpoints of experts, diplomats, military men: must, can, where and how”, Surikov said in his interview to the Interfax, adding that he meant” the facilities related to the nuclear weapons”. Surikov told the Interfax.

“I mean nuclear weapons-related facilities”, the diplomat added.

Surikov’s words evolved indignant protest on the part of Belarusians. “Ambassador Surikov is likely to have forgotten that he is not somewhere in the Altai region but in the independent Belarus .Such declarations are, firstly, not typical of diplomats and, secondly, they may be considered as encroachment upon the state sovereignty”, the former deputy foreign minister of Belarus international coordinator of the Charter’97 Andrei Sannikov declared

According to him, the Russian ambassador hardly might have made such a declaration without the Russian authorities sanctions, thus, such declarations must be treated seriously. “Up to reconsideration of the Russian military facilities status on the territory of Belarus”, Sannikov considers.

“Russia is persistent in its moving back to the position of the former USSR and wishes to become the empire threatening the world with its nuclear missiles. You know what, once Ales Adamovich very well said that it is a monster that has bristled with its nuclear missiles against the rest of the world .The situation more and more resembles the one depicted by Ales Adamovich. For me it is not clear who can benefit form that. But it is absolutely clear that it is harmful to Belarus and that it is the greatest threat, I mean the stationing of such structures on the territory of Belarus” former chairman of the Supreme Council Stanislau Shushkevich commented on the situation.

The declaration of Ambassador of the Russian Federation was immediately responded by the west. Stationing Russia’s military facilities in Belarus, including nuclear weapons, would be counterproductive for Russia-U.S. relations, U.S. Senator Richard Lugar made clear on Tuesday.

Defense minister of Lithuania Juozas Olekas also took the declarations on the might-be deployment of Russia’s new military facilities in Belarus, including nuclear weapons negatively.”In this case I hope that the Belarusian authorities who once made a wise decision on withdrawal of the nuclear weapons of the Soviet Union from the territory of Belarus will behave responsibly in this case either”, Juozas Olekas said to the Interfax.
The minister stressed that” unlike the USA and NATO plans in the sphere of the antimissile defense which are absolutely defensive and the deployed facilities could not have been used against Russian nuclear armory for objective reasons the Russian side means demonstrative re-dislocation of the offensive weapons of mass destruction targeted at the Countries of Europe”.

And to crown it all yesterday Youth leaders of Belarus rebuffed Russia’s intention to deploy the nuclear weapons in Belarus. At the press conference dedicated to the European March to be held in Minsk 14 October leaders of the youth organizations made a special declaration “Yesterday the Ambassador of Russia Surikov allowed himself addressing of unfriendly statements towards our country. With this in view we make up a conclusion that this viewpoint belongs not only to the Ambassador but to the Russian foreign ministry and to President Putin, personally”, declared activist of the “Jeans for Freedom!” campaign Yaugen Afnahel. They manifested their standpoint by tearing the image of Vladimir Putin.