State Duma to Discuss Russia-Belarus Security Guarantees Agreement
Russian soldiers, 2025. X/ @DD_Geopolitics
February 5, 2025 Hour: 1:06 pm
President Putin sent the text for ratification by the Lower House.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted the Security Guarantees Agreement for Belarus to the State Duma (the lower house of parliament) for ratification.
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The document was signed by the Russian leader during his trip to Minsk on December 6, 2024, in a ceremony attended by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The bilateral agreement designates nuclear weapons as a “deterrence instrument” in response to NATO’s expansion toward the borders of the Russia-Belarus Union State.
It also stipulates the use of such weapons in the event that an enemy employs the same type of weaponry or weapons of mass destruction against either country, or threatens their sovereignty and territorial integrity with conventional arms.
The Russia-Belarus agreement considers an attack on either nation to be “an act of aggression” against the Union State as a whole, warranting a response using the full arsenal at their disposal.
During his trip to Minsk, Putin hinted at the possibility of deploying Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missiles on Belarusian territory in the second half of 2025. He also assured that his country is prepared to defend Belarus “with all available forces,” including the tactical nuclear weapons that Moscow deployed in the neighboring country following the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
On January 26, the citizens of Belarus reaffirmed their confidence in Lukashenko, reelecting him for a seventh five-year presidential term.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
